Philadelphia, PA vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Philadelphia to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $87,357 in Wichita, KS (−$12,643).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($223 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $14,412 | −$8,556 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,824 | −$85 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,275 | −$165 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,704 | −$612 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $3,300 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $11,043 | +$851 |
| Total | $45,025 | $38,558 | −$6,467 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $119 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |