Midwest ranking
10 Kansas cities ranked by cost of living, cheapest first.
Index 82
Index 91
Sorted by cost-of-living index — lowest (most affordable) first.
| # | City | Cost index | Median rent | Median income | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Topeka | 82 | $926/mo | $54,052 | 126K | Compare → |
| 2 | Wichita | 82 | $915/mo | $60,712 | 396K | Compare → |
| 3 | Salina | 84 | $863/mo | $56,945 | 47K | Compare → |
| 4 | Manhattan | 84 | $977/mo | $55,316 | 54K | Compare → |
| 5 | Lawrence | 85 | $1,038/mo | $59,834 | 95K | Compare → |
| 6 | Kansas City | 90 | $1,044/mo | $56,120 | 155K | Compare → |
| 7 | Shawnee | 91 | $1,168/mo | $100,649 | 68K | Compare → |
| 8 | Olathe | 91 | $1,229/mo | $108,077 | 142K | Compare → |
| 9 | Lenexa | 91 | $1,373/mo | $101,074 | 57K | Compare → |
| 10 | Overland Park | 91 | $1,378/mo | $100,876 | 197K | Compare → |
Kansas has a handful of real selling points, and they're concrete rather than vague. Kansas is genuinely cheaper than most of the country and real low-cost-of-living options exist here are the headliners, plus 1 more.
Kansas's cost-of-living average comes in around 87 on the composite index, about 13% below the national average. Housing is doing most of the work; groceries and services follow at smaller gaps. Average median rent across Kansas cities runs about $1,091/mo.
Topeka ranks as Kansas's most affordable city at a composite cost index of 82 (18% below US average). Worth a look as a baseline for the cost ceiling — most of the rest of the state's cities are more expensive than this, not less.
Across our Kansas city data, typical household income lands near $75,366. That's above the national median, which puts more cushion under whatever the local cost of living happens to be.
Reasons reflect aggregated city data for Kansas (Census ACS, BLS, BEA) plus well-known state-level geography. We only list points that are actually supported — different states show different sections.
Across Kansas, Topeka is the most affordable city we track (cost index 82, with median rent around $926/mo), while Overland Park sits at the top of the range with an index of 91—roughly 12% pricier than Topeka. Use the table above to compare any Kansas city directly against Topeka.
The other end of the ranking — priciest first.