Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Kansas City's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Kansas City?
Your $100,000 in Kansas City has the same purchasing power as $110,461 in the average US city. You'd need $10,461 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Kansas City's cost index of 91, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Kansas City usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: living costs come in under the us baseline, the drive to work is mercifully short. Here's what's actually on the table.
Kansas City sits at 91 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 9% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $1,131/mo against a typical household income of $65,256, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
The average one-way commute in Kansas City is about 22 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Kansas City's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Kansas City does winter the real way. Averages around 22°F keep snow on the ground for weeks at a time, and lakes and rivers tend to freeze hard enough to walk on.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in Kansas City averages roughly 22°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Kansas City runs about 87°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 7, give or take a half-zone. Kansas City's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 7 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Kansas City is at about 745 feet (227 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
The citywide numbers are concerning — about 6,255 per 100,000 residents, well above the US average of around 3,500. As with all crime stats, the city aggregate hides huge variation between neighborhoods, but the overall picture is worse than most US cities.
Roughly average. Kansas City's cost-of-living index is 91, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Mostly car-dependent. Kansas City's Walk Score of 32/100 means a handful of errands work on foot — depending on the neighborhood — but most residents still need a car for the rest. Transit Score is 23 out of 100.
Roughly $63,371 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Kansas City runs about $1,131/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.