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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Dollar for dollar, few states match Kansas's value. 4 out of 4 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Wichita at index 66, where median rent of $1,125/month saves renters $9,240/year versus the national median.
#1 Ranked: Wichita — cost index 66, rent $1,125/mo, income $63,072
Wichita rent up 4% over the past year
4 of 4 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Dollar for dollar, few states match Kansas's value. 4 out of 4 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Wichita at index 66, where median rent of $1,125/month saves renters $9,240/year versus the national median.
What does daily life actually cost in Wichita? Start with the 21% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Housing (index 66) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 93) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $63,072 and homes at $198,074 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
Bottom line: Wichita leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers. Quietly competitive.
396,119 residents · Kansas
In plain English: a closer look at Wichita: the cost index of 66 breaks down to a Housing index of 66 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 93 (weakest). Median rent is $1,125/month — 41% below the national median — while household income sits at $63,072, meaning locals spend about 21% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
125,475 residents · Kansas
Dive into Topeka's numbers: cost index 68 — for better or worse — (43 points below national average), rent $1,169/month, income $55,902, and a home price of $186,856. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 68, while Healthcare runs 94. With 125,475 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs. Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
197,089 residents · Kansas
Here's Overland Park by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 97. Rent: $1,666/month. Income: $103,838/year. Home price: $470,417. Population: 197,089. The strongest category is Housing at 97; the most expensive is Healthcare at 99. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $2,748 per year vs. the national median. Financially, that's significant (that's pre-tax, of course).
147,461 residents · Kansas
What does daily life actually cost in Olathe? Start with the 19% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Healthcare (index 101) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 105) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $112,232 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — and homes at $425,657 round out a profile that ranks #4 for clear reasons.
Rent is the single largest expense for most households. We rank all tracked cities in Kansas by median 1-bedroom rent (Zillow ZORI) from lowest to highest, filtering out any cities with incomplete data. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Wichita ranks #1 in Kansas for this analysis with a cost index of 66 and median income of $63,072.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Wichita (ranked #1) has a cost index of 66 and rent of $1,125/mo, while Olathe (ranked #4) has a cost index of 105 and rent of $1,792/mo — a 39-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Wichita is $1,125/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $770 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Wichita is $198,074, which is 3.1× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Kansas has a 5.7% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.7%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.28%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.