Should I Move To
Roughly 155,438 people live in Kansas City, Kansas. Living here costs affordable relative to the rest of the country, 10% below the national average. Median rent runs about $1,044/mo; the typical household pulls in $56,120. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 44/100 — a D, putting it at #692 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Kansas City sits at 90 — affordable when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($1,044/mo against $56,120 median household income), housing eats roughly 22% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $133,800.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is varied: roughly 87°F in summer, 22°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 39 inches. Built around the car — walking isn't really an option for daily life. On crime, it scores well — incidents per capita run noticeably under the national average. Air quality reads good (AQI 48).
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Kansas City isn't the strongest match. It earns 54/100 (grade C-) on the families profile. Strongest on safety (98/100); weakest on walkability (7/100).
For retirees, Kansas City isn't the strongest match. It earns 52/100 (grade C-) on the retirees profile. Strongest on safety (98/100); weakest on walkability (7/100).
For remote workers, Kansas City isn't the strongest match. It earns 54/100 (grade C-) on the remote workers profile. Strongest on safety (98/100); weakest on walkability (7/100).
For young professionals, Kansas City isn't the strongest match. It earns 39/100 (grade F) on the young professionals profile. Strongest on safety (98/100); weakest on walkability (7/100).
Kansas City, Kansas pulls a 44/100 overall on the UrbRank Score (grade D), currently ranked #692 nationally. The composite weights seven lifestyle dimensions: affordability, safety, climate, walkability, jobs, environment, and education.
Kansas City's cost-of-living index is 90 (with 100 as the US average), which lands in the affordable band — 10% below the national average. Median rent runs about $1,044/mo.
Varied — summer averages around 87°F, winter averages around 22°F, with about 39 inches of precipitation a year.
Walk Score: 7/100. Built around the car — walking isn't really an option for daily life.
Kansas City has about 155,438 residents, 20% of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher with a median age of 34.
Use UrbRank's comparison tool to put Kansas City head-to-head against any other US city — housing, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life metrics side by side. The leaderboard pages also show how Kansas City stacks up for families, retirees, remote workers, and young professionals specifically.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Kansas City with other Kansas cities scored on UrbRank.
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