Moving to Minnesota from Kansas
What to Expect
Considering a move from Kansas to Minnesota? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Kansas to Minnesota, you would find that Minnesota is 7.4% more expensive than Kansas. A $75,000 salary in Kansas would need to be roughly $80,600 in Minnesota to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Minneapolis averages 55°F vs 68°F in Wichita, making it significantly cooler. Wichita and Minneapolis are about 550 mi apart.
Is Minnesota cheaper than Kansas?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 10.2% more
Groceries
pay 2.1% less
Transportation
pay 20.4% more
Housing
pay 5.3% more
Childcare
pay 35.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 6.0% 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 Minnesota?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $80,600
To maintain the same standard of living in Minnesota
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 Minnesota cost about 10% more than cities in Kansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Minnesota compared to Kansas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Minnesota 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
Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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
Minnesota 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
Minnesota performs significantly 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 Minnesota vs Kansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Wichita | Minneapolis |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 49°/28°F (10°/-2°C) | 31°/15°F (0°/-10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 77°/55°F (25°/13°C) | 69°/48°F (20°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/66°F (32°/19°C) | 78°/59°F (26°/15°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) | 42°/26°F (6°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Wichita | Minneapolis |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/22°F (5.8°/-5.6°C) | 24°/8°F (-4.6°/-13.6°C) |
| Feb | 48°/26°F (9.0°/-3.3°C) | 29°/13°F (-1.7°/-10.7°C) |
| Mar | 58°/35°F (14.4°/1.7°C) | 41°/24°F (5.2°/-4.3°C) |
| Apr | 68°/44°F (19.8°/6.9°C) | 58°/37°F (14.3°/2.9°C) |
| May | 77°/55°F (24.8°/12.9°C) | 69°/49°F (20.8°/9.4°C) |
| Jun | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.3°C) | 79°/59°F (26.0°/14.9°C) |
| Jul | 92°/70°F (33.5°/21.0°C) | 83°/64°F (28.6°/17.8°C) |
| Aug | 91°/69°F (32.9°/20.4°C) | 80°/62°F (26.9°/16.6°C) |
| Sep | 83°/60°F (28.1°/15.3°C) | 72°/52°F (22.1°/11.3°C) |
| Oct | 70°/47°F (20.9°/8.3°C) | 58°/40°F (14.4°/4.3°C) |
| Nov | 56°/35°F (13.4°/1.4°C) | 41°/26°F (5.1°/-3.2°C) |
| Dec | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.4°C) | 27°/12°F (-2.7°/-10.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Minnesota than Kansas?
On average Minnesota is around 7% pricier than Kansas, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Minnesota?
Budget about $20,150 for 3 months in Minnesota (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Minnesota safe?
Minnesota performs significantly better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Minnesota compared to Kansas?
Minnesota performs significantly better than Kansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Minnesota compared to Kansas?
The average high temperature in Minneapolis is 55°F, compared to 68°F in Wichita. Minneapolis receives around 30.6 in of rainfall per year, while Wichita gets 32.6 in.
