Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Olathe's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Olathe?
Your $100,000 in Olathe has the same purchasing power as $110,096 in the average US city. You'd need $10,096 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 Olathe's cost index of 91, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Olathe 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, a higher-income labor market than the national norm, plus 5 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Olathe 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 $1,229/mo against a typical household income of $108,077, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Median household income in Olathe is $108,077, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
At about 3.2% unemployment, Olathe's labor market is running on the tight side. Easier to land a role, easier to negotiate, easier to leave one job for a better one — the practical things that matter when you're actually looking.
Olathe reports roughly 1,448 crime incidents per 100,000 residents, well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. As always, citywide numbers paper over real differences between neighborhoods — but the broader trend here is on the calmer end of the US distribution.
Olathe earns a Walk Score of 76/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
The average one-way commute in Olathe is about 21 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.
51% of adults 25 and over in Olathe hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Olathe'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.
Olathe 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 Olathe 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 Olathe 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. Olathe'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.
Olathe is at about 1,043 feet (318 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
By the numbers, yes. Olathe reports roughly 1,448 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. The big caveat applies as always: every city has neighborhoods that look nothing like the citywide average. But the citywide average here is genuinely good.
Roughly average. Olathe'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.
Yes — Olathe is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 76/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 0 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $63,581 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 Olathe runs about $1,229/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.