Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kansas City vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
Kansas City is 6.0% more expensive than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.0% more in Kansas City
- Groceries
-
pay 33.7% more in Kansas City
- Transportation
-
pay 2.2% less in Kansas City
- Housing
-
pay 13.4% less in Kansas City
- Childcare
-
pay 10.6% more in Kansas City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.5% less in Kansas City
- Clothing
-
pay 9.8% more in Kansas City
The cost of groceries, childcare, clothing, and restaurants in Kansas City are more expensive than in Houston. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Kansas City.
Kansas City vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kansas City instead of Houston, you would:
pay 7.0% more for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Kansas City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$22.63
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$2.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$2.15
|
|
Houston vs. Kansas City - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.7% more for groceries
|
Houston
|
Kansas City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$3.61
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$8.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$4.76
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$3.74
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$3.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$1.77
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$2.97
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$1.48
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.76
|
|
Houston vs. Kansas City - Cost of groceries
pay 2.2% less for transportation
|
Houston
|
Kansas City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$2.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$37,222.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$12.44
|
|
Houston vs. Kansas City - Cost of transportation
pay 13.4% less for housing
|
Houston
|
Kansas City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$57.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$1,310.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$1,049.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$151.55
|
|
Houston vs. Kansas City - Cost of housing
pay 10.6% more for childcare
|
Houston
|
Kansas City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$1,392.82
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$28,840.00
|
|
Houston vs. Kansas City - Cost of childcare
pay 3.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Kansas City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$5.47
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$7.14
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$36.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Houston vs. Kansas City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.8% more for clothing
|
Houston
|
Kansas City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$56.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$41.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$138.33
|
|
Houston vs. Kansas City - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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