Montgomery, AL vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Montgomery to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($214,099 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Montgomery 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 Montgomery, AL, you'd need about $103,631 in Kansas City, MO (+$3,631).
Livability — Montgomery, AL: 73 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,789 sqft in Montgomery vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($104 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Montgomery, AL | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,824 | $18,576 | +$1,752 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,828 | +$98 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,390 | −$75 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,512 | −$372 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,400 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,784 | $10,526 | +$1,743 |
| Total | $38,086 | $41,232 | +$3,146 |
Side by side
| Metric | Montgomery, AL | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.9 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.56% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.12 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $214,099 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.7% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $104 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,402 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.32% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |