Overall
88.9
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Wichita, KS
Cost-of-living indicators for Wichita, KS, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 88.9
- Overall RPP
- #313
- of 387 metros
- 66.2
- Rents RPP
- $112K
- $100K national buys
Wichita ranks #313 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 5.2 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Cedar Rapids
The verdict
Wichita costs less than 81% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 88.9, 11.1% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 66.2.
- bottom 19%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 94.0
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 88.5
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $112,428 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $88,946.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$88,946
in Wichita, KS purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$44,473
$75,000 nationally
$66,710
$125,000 nationally
$111,183
$150,000 nationally
$133,419
$200,000 nationally
$177,892
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
B
75/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability B
75th 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 Wichita's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Wichita: rents index at 66.2, 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 88.9.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Topeka, KS, Evansville, IN, St. Cloud, MN. They resemble Wichita 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, Wichita's overall index has fallen by 5.2 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.
Wichita vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
89 Bottom 19% higher than 19% 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
Wichita cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
66.2 RPP
- Services
Services
88.5 RPP
- Overall
Overall
88.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94 RPP
What this shows Wichita's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 66.2 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 88.5. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Wichita's cost comes from
Metros near Wichita's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Wichita (Wichita, this metro): goods RPP 94, rents RPP 66.2
- Cedar Rapids: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 71.4
- Pocatello: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 66.4
- Mansfield: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 54.9
- Weirton: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 52.4
- Jackson: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 64.8
- Ames: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 69.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.0
Below avg
Services
88.5
Cheap
Rents
66.2
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Wichita's overall RPP fell -0.5 points, from 89.4 in 2023 to 88.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was goods, changing from 96.5 to 94.0. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 5.2 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2022, when the index dropped 2.2 points from the year before.
Wichita overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.2 |
| 2009 | 93.7 |
| 2010 | 93.3 |
| 2011 | 92.4 |
| 2012 | 92.5 |
| 2013 | 93.3 |
| 2014 | 92.5 |
| 2015 | 91.6 |
| 2016 | 92.1 |
| 2017 | 91.2 |
| 2018 | 91.1 |
| 2019 | 92.3 |
| 2020 | 92.0 |
| 2021 | 91.0 |
| 2022 | 88.8 |
| 2023 | 89.4 |
| 2024 | 88.9 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Wichita, KS's index of 88.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
KS-relative analysis
Goods prices places Wichita, KS near the bottom of KS's metros
Among the 4 KS metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Wichita, KS ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Wichita, KS only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 4
0th percentile in KS
Services prices
#3 of 4
25th percentile in KS
Rent prices
#3 of 4
25th percentile in KS
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 KS only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Wichita, 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 (88.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (66.2 here).
Other KS Metros
View all KS metros → Cheapest in KS → Most expensive in KS →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Wichita'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.
Topeka, KS
Goods 94.0 · Services 88.9 · Rents 65.0 Evansville, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.7 · Rents 66.7 St. Cloud, MN
Goods 95.4 · Services 88.7 · Rents 65.1 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
Goods 94.2 · Services 89.9 · Rents 68.3 Springfield, MO
Goods 94.2 · Services 85.8 · Rents 65.6 Elkhart-Goshen, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.4 · Rents 64.3
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 Wichita
How to read Wichita'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 $112,428 in Wichita. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 66.2, 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 Wichita 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 Wichita, KS?
Wichita, KS has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 88.9, meaning it is 11.1% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.0, services at 88.5, and rents at 66.2. It ranks #313 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Wichita, KS to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $88,946 in Wichita, KS. Conversely, $100K earned in Wichita, KS has the purchasing power of $112,428 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Wichita, KS?
Rents in Wichita, KS are indexed at 66.2, which is 33.8% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Wichita, KS getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Wichita, KS's overall cost index changed by -5.2 points (from 94.2 to 88.9). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Wichita, KS?
The priciest category in Wichita, KS is goods at 94.0, 6.0% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 66.2, 33.8% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Wichita, KS?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Cedar Rapids, Pocatello, Mansfield. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Wichita, KS's 88.9.
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.