Wichita, KS vs Denver, CO
Moving from Wichita to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($225,557 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Wichita vs Denver 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 Wichita, KS, you'd need about $118,281 in Denver, CO (+$18,281).
Livability — Wichita, KS: 72 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,212 sqft in Wichita vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($119 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Wichita, KS | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,412 | $22,920 | +$8,508 |
| Groceries | $4,824 | $5,079 | +$255 |
| Transportation | $3,275 | $4,050 | +$775 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,788 | +$84 |
| Insurance | $3,300 | $2,800 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $11,043 | $9,828 | −$1,215 |
| Total | $38,558 | $46,464 | +$7,906 |
Side by side
| Metric | Wichita, KS | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.4 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.05% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $225,557 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.4× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.7% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $119 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,201 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.2% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.70% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.70% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.33% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.93% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $68 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $92 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 410 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 30.0 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 65% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |