Moving to Kansas from Arizona
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Arizona to Kansas — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Arizona to Kansas, you would find that Kansas is 8.4% cheaper than Arizona. A $75,000 salary in Arizona would need to be roughly $64,435 in Kansas to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Topeka averages 66°F vs 87°F in Phoenix, making it significantly cooler.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Arizona to Kansas.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $64,435
To maintain the same standard of living in Kansas
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 16.2% less
Groceries
pay 1.5% less
Transportation
pay 13.9% less
Housing
pay 26.1% less
Childcare
pay 1.7% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.2% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Kansas cost about 4% less than cities in Arizona.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Arizona and Kansas stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Arizona performs better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Arizona generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Kansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Arizona leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Arizona generally does better on infrastructure, though Kansas leads in average commute.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Kansas generally does better on employment & economy, though Arizona leads in median household income.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Kansas performs significantly better than Arizona across all family life metrics.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Phoenix | Topeka |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 73°/49°F (23°/10°C) | 46°/25°F (8°/-4°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 95°/69°F (35°/20°C) | 75°/53°F (24°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 103°/80°F (40°/27°C) | 86°/63°F (30°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 77°/54°F (25°/12°C) | 54°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Phoenix | Topeka |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 69°/46°F (20.3°/7.6°C) | 39°/19°F (4.1°/-7.3°C) |
| Feb | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) | 44°/23°F (6.9°/-5.1°C) |
| Mar | 78°/53°F (25.7°/11.9°C) | 56°/32°F (13.4°/0.1°C) |
| Apr | 86°/60°F (29.9°/15.7°C) | 66°/43°F (19.1°/5.9°C) |
| May | 95°/69°F (34.8°/20.6°C) | 75°/53°F (24.1°/11.8°C) |
| Jun | 104°/77°F (39.9°/25.1°C) | 84°/63°F (28.9°/17.0°C) |
| Jul | 106°/83°F (41.0°/28.1°C) | 90°/68°F (32.2°/19.9°C) |
| Aug | 104°/82°F (40.1°/27.8°C) | 89°/65°F (31.6°/18.6°C) |
| Sep | 100°/75°F (37.8°/24.1°C) | 80°/55°F (26.7°/13.0°C) |
| Oct | 89°/64°F (31.8°/18.0°C) | 67°/44°F (19.6°/6.6°C) |
| Nov | 76°/52°F (24.7°/11.1°C) | 54°/32°F (12.3°/0.2°C) |
| Dec | 67°/45°F (19.6°/7.1°C) | 41°/21°F (4.9°/-5.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Kansas than Arizona?
Generally yes: Kansas runs about 14% cheaper than Arizona on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Kansas?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $16,109 in Kansas for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Kansas safe?
Arizona performs better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Kansas compared to Arizona?
Arizona generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Kansas compared to Arizona?
The average high temperature in Topeka is 66°F, compared to 87°F in Phoenix. Topeka receives around 38.9 in of rainfall per year, while Phoenix gets 8.2 in.
