Overall
92.5
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Kansas City, MO-KS
Cost-of-living indicators for Kansas City, MO-KS, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 92.5
- Overall RPP
- #230
- of 387 metros
- 86.6
- Rents RPP
- $108K
- $100K national buys
Kansas City ranks #230 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Waco
The verdict
Kansas City costs less than 59% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 92.5, 7.5% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 86.6.
- bottom 41%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 94.1
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 89.0
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $108,058 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $92,543.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$92,543
in Kansas City, MO-KS purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$46,272
$75,000 nationally
$69,407
$125,000 nationally
$115,679
$150,000 nationally
$138,815
$200,000 nationally
$185,086
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
39/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
39th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Housing-led affordability profile
How Kansas City's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Kansas City: rents index at 86.6, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 92.5.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN, Savannah, GA, Bloomington, IN. They resemble Kansas City across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Kansas City's overall index has stayed within 0.5 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Kansas City vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
93 Bottom 41% higher than 41% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Kansas City cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
86.6 RPP
- Services
Services
89 RPP
- Overall
Overall
92.5 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94.1 RPP
What this shows Kansas City's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 86.6 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 89.0. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Kansas City's cost comes from
Metros near Kansas City's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Kansas City (Kansas City, this metro): goods RPP 94.1, rents RPP 86.6
- Waco: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 83.5
- Muskegon: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 74.2
- Knoxville: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 82.8
- Fort Wayne: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 72.3
- New Orleans: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 86
- Sebring: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 73.5
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.1
Below avg
Services
89.0
Cheap
Rents
86.6
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Kansas City's overall RPP fell -0.7 points, from 93.2 in 2023 to 92.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was goods, changing from 96.6 to 94.1. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.5 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index dropped 2.7 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Kansas City overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.1 |
| 2009 | 95.0 |
| 2010 | 96.0 |
| 2011 | 96.6 |
| 2012 | 96.9 |
| 2013 | 95.8 |
| 2014 | 97.1 |
| 2015 | 98.6 |
| 2016 | 97.2 |
| 2017 | 96.9 |
| 2018 | 94.2 |
| 2019 | 94.9 |
| 2020 | 95.0 |
| 2021 | 93.6 |
| 2022 | 92.0 |
| 2023 | 93.2 |
| 2024 | 92.5 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Kansas City, MO-KS's index of 92.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
MO-relative analysis
Goods prices places Kansas City, MO-KS near the bottom of MO's metros
Among the 8 MO metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Kansas City, MO-KS ranks #8 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Kansas City, MO-KS only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#8 of 8
0th percentile in MO
Services prices
#1 of 8
88th percentile in MO
Rent prices
#1 of 8
88th percentile in MO
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within MO only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Kansas City, MO-KS: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (92.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (86.6 here).
Other MO Metros
St. Louis, MO-IL 95.1 Columbia, MO 89.4 Springfield, MO 88.6 Jefferson City, MO 88.0 St. Joseph, MO-KS 86.4 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 86.1
View all MO metros → Cheapest in MO → Most expensive in MO →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Kansas City's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
Goods 93.8 · Services 91.0 · Rents 87.6 Savannah, GA
Goods 96.3 · Services 88.6 · Rents 86.0 Bloomington, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.5 · Rents 85.6 Ocala, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.1 · Rents 86.2 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.4 · Rents 88.9 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 88.0 · Rents 83.1
Compare to Other Metros
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Kansas City
How to read Kansas City's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $108,058 in Kansas City. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 86.6, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Kansas City head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Kansas City, MO-KS?
Kansas City, MO-KS has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 92.5, meaning it is 7.5% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.1, services at 89.0, and rents at 86.6. It ranks #230 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Kansas City, MO-KS to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $92,543 in Kansas City, MO-KS. Conversely, $100K earned in Kansas City, MO-KS has the purchasing power of $108,058 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Kansas City, MO-KS?
Rents in Kansas City, MO-KS are indexed at 86.6, which is 13.4% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Kansas City, MO-KS getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Kansas City, MO-KS's overall cost index changed by -0.5 points (from 93.1 to 92.5). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Kansas City, MO-KS?
The priciest category in Kansas City, MO-KS is goods at 94.1, 5.9% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 86.6, 13.4% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Kansas City, MO-KS?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Waco, Muskegon-Norton Shores, Knoxville. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Kansas City, MO-KS's 92.5.
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.