Tampa, FL vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Tampa to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Tampa 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 Tampa, FL, you'd need about $87,263 in Wichita, KS (−$12,737).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($195 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $14,412 | −$9,804 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $4,824 | −$124 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,275 | −$1,525 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,704 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $3,300 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $11,043 | +$6,401 |
| Total | $44,463 | $38,558 | −$5,904 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $119 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $92 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 30.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 66% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |