Moving to California from Kansas
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Kansas to California — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Kansas to California, you would find that California is 39.0% more expensive than Kansas. A $75,000 salary in Kansas would need to be roughly $106,618 in California to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
What to expect for your wallet after moving from Kansas to California.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $106,618
To maintain the same standard of living in California
Calculate with your salary →Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 27.7% more
Groceries
pay 26.5% more
Transportation
pay 41.4% more
Housing
pay 64.8% more
Childcare
pay 75.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 27.1% more
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 California cost about 34% more than cities in Kansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Kansas to California.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Kansas performs better than California 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
California 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 better than California across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Kansas generally does better on infrastructure, though California leads in internet access.
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 California leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
California performs significantly better than Kansas 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 | Topeka | Sacramento |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/25°F (8°/-4°C) | 60°/41°F (15°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 75°/53°F (24°/12°C) | 79°/51°F (26°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/63°F (30°/17°C) | 90°/57°F (32°/14°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 54°/32°F (12°/0°C) | 65°/44°F (18°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Topeka | Sacramento |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39°/19°F (4.1°/-7.3°C) | 54°/39°F (12.1°/3.8°C) |
| Feb | 44°/23°F (6.9°/-5.1°C) | 60°/41°F (15.7°/5.2°C) |
| Mar | 56°/32°F (13.4°/0.1°C) | 65°/44°F (18.4°/6.7°C) |
| Apr | 66°/43°F (19.1°/5.9°C) | 71°/46°F (21.7°/7.9°C) |
| May | 75°/53°F (24.1°/11.8°C) | 80°/51°F (26.6°/10.6°C) |
| Jun | 84°/63°F (28.9°/17.0°C) | 87°/56°F (30.6°/13.2°C) |
| Jul | 90°/68°F (32.2°/19.9°C) | 92°/58°F (33.4°/14.7°C) |
| Aug | 89°/65°F (31.6°/18.6°C) | 91°/58°F (32.9°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 80°/55°F (26.7°/13.0°C) | 87°/56°F (30.7°/13.2°C) |
| Oct | 67°/44°F (19.6°/6.6°C) | 78°/50°F (25.3°/10.1°C) |
| Nov | 54°/32°F (12.3°/0.2°C) | 64°/43°F (17.7°/6.0°C) |
| Dec | 41°/21°F (4.9°/-5.9°C) | 54°/38°F (12.2°/3.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in California than Kansas?
No — California is on average about 42% more expensive than Kansas. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to California?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $26,654 in California on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is California safe?
Kansas performs better than California across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in California compared to Kansas?
California generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in California compared to Kansas?
The average high temperature in Sacramento is 74°F, compared to 66°F in Topeka. Sacramento receives around 18.5 in of rainfall per year, while Topeka gets 38.9 in.
