Rochester, NY vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Rochester to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($285,034 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Rochester 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 Rochester, NY, you'd need about $94,729 in Kansas City, MO (−$5,271).
Livability — Rochester, NY: 59 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,807 sqft in Rochester vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($178 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Rochester, NY | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,164 | $18,576 | −$588 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $4,828 | −$41 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,390 | −$505 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,512 | −$1,668 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,400 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $18,722 | $10,526 | −$8,196 |
| Total | $51,429 | $41,232 | −$10,198 |
Side by side
| Metric | Rochester, NY | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.4 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.01% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $285,034 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.7% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $178 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,597 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 2.76% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |