Seattle, WA vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Seattle to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $79,322 in Wichita, KS (−$20,678).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($417 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $14,412 | −$12,372 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,824 | −$581 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,275 | −$800 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,704 | +$156 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,300 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $11,043 | +$2,217 |
| Total | $48,138 | $38,558 | −$9,580 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $119 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |