Overall
- Kansas City
- 92.5
- Memphis
- 92.2
Diff -0.4 RPP
Kansas City vs Memphis
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Memphis is 0.4% less expensive than Kansas City.
0.4% less expensive
Memphis, TN-MS-AR is 0.4% less expensive than Kansas City, MO-KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.2 vs 92.5). A $100,000 salary in Kansas City buys about the same as $99,607 in Memphis; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.5 (Kansas City) vs 92.2 (Memphis)
- $100k in Kansas City ≈ $99,607 purchasing power in Memphis
- Services drives the gap (-14.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MO:TN 92.5→92.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MO × TN
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Kansas City
92.5
Cost Index
Memphis
92.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Kansas City, MO-KS and Memphis, TN-MS-AR are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Memphis is 14.9 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Kansas City to $99,607 in Memphis, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Kansas City
- 94.1
- Memphis
- 96.2
Diff +2.1 RPP
Services
- Kansas City
- 89.0
- Memphis
- 74.1
Diff -14.9 RPP
Rents
- Kansas City
- 86.6
- Memphis
- 79.8
Diff -6.8 RPP
| Category | Kansas City | Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.5 | 92.2 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 94.1 | 96.2 | +2.1 |
| Services | 89.0 | 74.1 | -14.9 |
| Rents | 86.6 | 79.8 | -6.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kansas City 92.5
Memphis 92.2
Goods
Kansas City 94.1
Memphis 96.2
Services
Kansas City 89.0
Memphis 74.1
Rents
Kansas City 86.6
Memphis 79.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kansas City would need to be in Memphis for the same purchasing power:
| In Kansas City | In Memphis | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,803 | $-197 |
| $75,000 | $74,705 | $-295 |
| $100,000 | $99,607 | $-393 |
| $150,000 | $149,410 | $-590 |
$ in Kansas City = in Memphis
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.5 → 92.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Memphis more expensive than Kansas City?
Memphis is 0.4% less expensive than Kansas City. The overall cost index is 92.2 vs 92.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Memphis equals $100K in Kansas City?
A $100,000 salary in Kansas City has the same purchasing power as $99,607 in Memphis. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kansas City and Memphis?
Rents in Kansas City are indexed at 86.6 while Memphis is at 79.8 (national average = 100). Kansas City has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.