Moving to Kansas from Illinois
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Illinois to Kansas — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Illinois to Kansas, you would find that Kansas is 10.6% cheaper than Illinois. A $75,000 salary in Illinois would need to be roughly $67,000 in Kansas to maintain the same lifestyle. Chicago and Wichita are about 590 mi apart.
Is Kansas cheaper than Illinois?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 2.7% less
Groceries
pay 3.5% more
Transportation
pay 17.9% less
Housing
pay 15.1% less
Childcare
pay 34.2% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.7% 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.
What salary do you need in Kansas?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $67,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Kansas
Calculate with your salary →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 7% less than cities in Illinois.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Illinois to Kansas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Illinois 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
Illinois generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Kansas performs significantly better than Illinois across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Illinois 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
Illinois generally does better on employment & economy, though Kansas leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Illinois performs better than Kansas across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Kansas vs Illinois
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Chicago | Wichita |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) | 49°/28°F (10°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) | 77°/55°F (25°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) | 89°/66°F (32°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Chicago | Wichita |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) | 42°/22°F (5.8°/-5.6°C) |
| Feb | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) | 48°/26°F (9.0°/-3.3°C) |
| Mar | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) | 58°/35°F (14.4°/1.7°C) |
| Apr | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) | 68°/44°F (19.8°/6.9°C) |
| May | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) | 77°/55°F (24.8°/12.9°C) |
| Jun | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.3°C) |
| Jul | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) | 92°/70°F (33.5°/21.0°C) |
| Aug | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) | 91°/69°F (32.9°/20.4°C) |
| Sep | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) | 83°/60°F (28.1°/15.3°C) |
| Oct | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) | 70°/47°F (20.9°/8.3°C) |
| Nov | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) | 56°/35°F (13.4°/1.4°C) |
| Dec | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Kansas than Illinois?
Yes — Kansas is on average about 11% cheaper than Illinois. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Kansas?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $16,750 in Kansas on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Kansas safe?
Illinois performs better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Kansas compared to Illinois?
Illinois generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Kansas compared to Illinois?
The average high temperature in Wichita is 68°F, compared to 59°F in Chicago. Wichita receives around 32.6 in of rainfall per year, while Chicago gets 36.9 in.
