Moving to Idaho from Kansas
What to Expect
Considering a move from Kansas to Idaho? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Kansas to Idaho, you would find that Idaho is 4.8% more expensive than Kansas. A $75,000 salary in Kansas would need to be roughly $78,600 in Idaho to maintain the same lifestyle. Wichita and Idaho Falls are about 870 mi apart.
Is Idaho cheaper than Kansas?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 2.5% less
Groceries
pay 10.3% less
Transportation
pay 6.7% more
Housing
pay 16.1% more
Childcare
pay 30.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.9% 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.
What salary do you need in Idaho?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $78,600
To maintain the same standard of living in Idaho
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 Idaho cost about 9% more than cities in Kansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Idaho compared to Kansas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho performs significantly 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
Idaho performs significantly better than Kansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
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 Idaho leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Kansas generally does better on infrastructure, though Idaho 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 Idaho 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 generally does better on family life, though Idaho leads in life expectancy.
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 Idaho vs Kansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Wichita | Idaho Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 49°/28°F (10°/-2°C) | 39°/19°F (4°/-7°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 77°/55°F (25°/13°C) | 69°/40°F (20°/5°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/66°F (32°/19°C) | 83°/49°F (29°/9°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) | 45°/24°F (7°/-5°C) |
View all months
| Month | Wichita | Idaho Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/22°F (5.8°/-5.6°C) | 31°/14°F (-0.7°/-10.2°C) |
| Feb | 48°/26°F (9.0°/-3.3°C) | 36°/17°F (2.3°/-8.4°C) |
| Mar | 58°/35°F (14.4°/1.7°C) | 49°/26°F (9.3°/-3.2°C) |
| Apr | 68°/44°F (19.8°/6.9°C) | 59°/33°F (15.2°/0.3°C) |
| May | 77°/55°F (24.8°/12.9°C) | 69°/40°F (20.3°/4.7°C) |
| Jun | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.3°C) | 78°/47°F (25.6°/8.6°C) |
| Jul | 92°/70°F (33.5°/21.0°C) | 87°/53°F (30.7°/11.7°C) |
| Aug | 91°/69°F (32.9°/20.4°C) | 87°/51°F (30.6°/10.7°C) |
| Sep | 83°/60°F (28.1°/15.3°C) | 76°/42°F (24.3°/5.8°C) |
| Oct | 70°/47°F (20.9°/8.3°C) | 61°/33°F (16.3°/0.4°C) |
| Nov | 56°/35°F (13.4°/1.4°C) | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.7°C) |
| Dec | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.4°C) | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.7°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Idaho than Kansas?
On average Idaho is around 5% pricier than Kansas, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Idaho?
Budget about $19,650 for 3 months in Idaho (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Idaho safe?
Idaho performs significantly better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Idaho compared to Kansas?
Idaho performs significantly better than Kansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Idaho compared to Kansas?
The average high temperature in Idaho Falls is 59°F, compared to 68°F in Wichita. Idaho Falls receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while Wichita gets 32.6 in.
