Kansas City, MO vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Kansas City to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Wichita 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 $95,942 in Wichita, KS (−$4,058).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($188 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $14,412 | −$4,164 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,824 | −$3 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,275 | −$115 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,704 | +$192 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $3,300 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $11,043 | +$517 |
| Total | $41,232 | $38,558 | −$2,673 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $119 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |