Wichita, KS vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Wichita to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($225,557 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Wichita vs Nashville 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 $108,502 in Nashville, TN (+$8,502).
Livability — Wichita, KS: 72 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,212 sqft in Wichita vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($119 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Wichita, KS | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,412 | $21,576 | +$7,164 |
| Groceries | $4,824 | $4,715 | −$110 |
| Transportation | $3,275 | $3,130 | −$145 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,608 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $3,300 | $2,200 | −$1,100 |
| Taxes | $11,043 | $5,231 | −$5,812 |
| Total | $38,558 | $38,459 | −$99 |
Side by side
| Metric | Wichita, KS | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.4 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.05% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $225,557 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.4× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.7% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $119 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,201 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.2% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.70% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.70% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.33% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.93% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,300 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 410 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |