Utica, NY vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Utica to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($230,265 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Utica 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 Utica, NY, you'd need about $100,505 in Kansas City, MO (+$505).
Livability — Utica, NY: 64 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,475 sqft in Utica vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($144 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Utica, NY | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,848 | $18,576 | +$1,728 |
| 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 | $17,314 | $10,526 | −$6,788 |
| Total | $47,705 | $41,232 | −$6,474 |
Side by side
| Metric | Utica, NY | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.7 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.37% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.3% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.28 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $230,265 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.4× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 8.1% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $144 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,404 | $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 | 2.26% | 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.0 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.0 | 18.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |