Accountants & Auditors salary in Kansas City, MO
Median pay for accountants & auditors in Kansas City, MO: $78,500/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $49,310 – $129,600 · about 11,830 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($74,290) by +$4,210 (+6%).
What it's really worth in Kansas City
With Kansas City's cost of living at 93 (US=100), that $78,500 has the buying power of about $84,225 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $78,827 · median home $329,641 · median rent $1,548/mo.
How Kansas City ranks for this job
On raw pay, Kansas City, MO is 51st of the 187 metros we hold accountants & auditors wages for. Once Kansas City's cost of living is applied, it ranks 16th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Kansas City is one of the places where accountants & auditors gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.
What that salary buys in Kansas City
A median home in Kansas City, MO costs $329,641 — about 4.2× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,548/mo works out at 24% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.
Where accountants & auditors earn more
Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Kansas City.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Kansas City | Rent vs Kansas City |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $113,980 | +45% | 2.3× |
| San Francisco, CA | $103,990 | +32% | 2.1× |
| New York, NY | $103,900 | +32% | 2.3× |
| Washington, DC | $97,320 | +24% | 1.6× |
Same job elsewhere in MO
| Metro | Median pay | vs Kansas City | Rent vs Kansas City |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis, MO | $76,280 | −3% | 0.9× |
| Springfield, MO | $59,870 | −24% | 0.8× |
Staying in MO keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Kansas City
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.