Madison, WI vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Madison to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Kansas City 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 Madison, WI, you'd need about $97,153 in Kansas City, MO (−$2,847).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($266 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $18,576 | −$1,620 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,828 | +$136 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,390 | +$305 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,512 | −$564 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,400 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $10,526 | −$4,635 |
| Total | $46,510 | $41,232 | −$5,278 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |