Kansas City, MO vs Syracuse, NY
Moving from Kansas City to Syracuse? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $264,903 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Syracuse at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Kansas City, MO, you'd need about $102,697 in Syracuse, NY (+$2,697).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Syracuse, NY: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 3,019 sqft in Syracuse ($188 vs $166 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Syracuse, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $19,596 | +$1,020 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,868 | +$41 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,895 | +$505 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $3,180 | +$1,668 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,600 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $18,225 | +$7,699 |
| Total | $41,232 | $51,364 | +$10,133 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Syracuse, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 95.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.79% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | -0.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 36 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.45 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $264,903 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 6.6% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $166 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,633 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 2.64% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |