Seattle, WA vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Seattle to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $82,677 in Kansas City, MO (−$17,323).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($417 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $18,576 | −$8,208 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,828 | −$578 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,390 | −$685 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,512 | −$36 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,400 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $10,526 | +$1,700 |
| Total | $48,138 | $41,232 | −$6,907 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $188 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |