Is Kansas a Good Deal or a Trade-off?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#38

38th out of 50 states overall.

Below average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#18

18th cheapest state, about 10% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $67,800 here.

How we measure cost ›

Kansas ranks 38th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 18th for affordability. It does best on cost, air quality, and education, and struggles most with walkability, climate, and green space. A typical household earns about $66,900 a year, and the cost of living runs about 10% below average.

Why Kansas ranks #38 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Kansas scores on each, best to worst.

Cost of living
#18 of 50
Air quality
#20 of 50
Education
#21 of 50
Healthcare
#25 of 50
Economy
#27 of 50
Safety
#28 of 50
Dog friendly
#34 of 50
Walkability
#35 of 50
Climate
#44 of 50
Green space
#47 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Kansas at a glance

Typical household income

$66,900

30th highest

Typical home price

$232,000

48th highest

Overall cost of living

10% below average

18th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 10%

19th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 20 min

one way

Taxes in Kansas

See your real Kansas take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Kansas taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.