New York, NY vs Wichita, KS
Moving from New York to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
New York 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $79,383 in Wichita, KS (−$20,617).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($455 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $14,412 | −$27,624 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,824 | −$590 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,275 | −$620 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,704 | −$1,476 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $3,300 | +$1,700 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $11,043 | −$12,453 |
| Total | $79,622 | $38,558 | −$41,063 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $119 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |