Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Real talk: Dollar for dollar, few states match Kansas's value. It's fine. Not great, not bad. 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
Real talk: Dollar for dollar, few states match Kansas's value. It's fine. Not great, not bad. 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.
Real talk: There's a pattern hiding in these numbers — and it matters: Wichita rent up 4% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Wichita has increased from $1,085 — we had to double-check this one — to $1,125/mo over the past 12 months — a 4% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time. That gap is hard to ignore.
Dive into Wichita's numbers: cost index 66 — and yes, that's adjusted for the region — (45 points below national average), rent $1,125/month, income $63,072, and a home price of $198,074. And generally speaking, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 66, while Healthcare runs 93. With 396,119 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
The broader context shifts things: State context matters: Kansas's 4 cities average a 84 cost index with $1,438/month median rent and $83,761 household income. Plains affordability with steady incomes. The salary data below puts this in sharper focus.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
396,119 residents · Kansas
Look, the #1 spot goes to Wichita, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,125/month — we had to double-check this one — — saving renters $9,240 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 66, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 93. At a 21% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
125,475 residents · Kansas
The #2 spot goes to Topeka, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,169/month — saving renters $8,712 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 68, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 94. A 25% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone. Hard to argue with that.
197,089 residents · Kansas
At $1,666/month for rent and a cost index of 97, Overland Park is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. And for the typical household, no major red flags in that number. Income is $103,838. You get the picture.
147,461 residents · Kansas
So, Olathe. Fairly typical for a city this size. Cost index of 105, rent at $1,792/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $112,232, which is above average. That's about what we'd expect given the state context.
Cities are ranked by their transportation cost sub-index within Kansas. Each sub-index is derived from the overall cost of living with regional adjustment factors. 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.
Wichita, KS has the lowest transportation index at 91, compared to the national average of 100.
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.