Moving to Wisconsin from Kansas
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Kansas to Wisconsin — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Kansas to Wisconsin, you would find that Wisconsin is 2.7% more expensive than Kansas. A $75,000 salary in Kansas would need to be roughly $77,000 in Wisconsin to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Milwaukee averages 55°F vs 68°F in Wichita, making it significantly cooler. Wichita and Milwaukee are about 620 mi apart.
Is Wisconsin cheaper than Kansas?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 1.2% more
Groceries
pay 10.2% less
Transportation
pay 6.8% more
Housing
pay 5.4% more
Childcare
pay 66.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 6.8% 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 Wisconsin?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $77,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin cost about 7% more than cities in Kansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Kansas and Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin 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
Kansas generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Kansas performs better than Wisconsin across all infrastructure metrics.
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
Wisconsin generally does better on employment & economy, though Kansas 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
Kansas generally does better on family life, though Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin vs Kansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Wichita | Milwaukee |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 49°/28°F (10°/-2°C) | 35°/21°F (1°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 77°/55°F (25°/13°C) | 65°/47°F (18°/8°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/66°F (32°/19°C) | 76°/61°F (25°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) | 46°/32°F (8°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Wichita | Milwaukee |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/22°F (5.8°/-5.6°C) | 29°/16°F (-1.7°/-9.1°C) |
| Feb | 48°/26°F (9.0°/-3.3°C) | 33°/19°F (0.3°/-7.1°C) |
| Mar | 58°/35°F (14.4°/1.7°C) | 42°/28°F (5.8°/-2.4°C) |
| Apr | 68°/44°F (19.8°/6.9°C) | 54°/37°F (12.1°/2.9°C) |
| May | 77°/55°F (24.8°/12.9°C) | 65°/47°F (18.3°/8.1°C) |
| Jun | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.3°C) | 75°/57°F (24.1°/13.9°C) |
| Jul | 92°/70°F (33.5°/21.0°C) | 80°/64°F (26.7°/17.5°C) |
| Aug | 91°/69°F (32.9°/20.4°C) | 78°/63°F (25.8°/17.2°C) |
| Sep | 83°/60°F (28.1°/15.3°C) | 71°/55°F (21.8°/12.7°C) |
| Oct | 70°/47°F (20.9°/8.3°C) | 59°/43°F (15.2°/6.2°C) |
| Nov | 56°/35°F (13.4°/1.4°C) | 46°/32°F (7.8°/0.0°C) |
| Dec | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.4°C) | 33°/20°F (0.4°/-6.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Wisconsin than Kansas?
Day-to-day costs in Wisconsin run about 3% higher than Kansas on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Wisconsin?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $19,250 in Wisconsin for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Wisconsin safe?
Wisconsin performs significantly better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Wisconsin compared to Kansas?
Kansas generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Wisconsin leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Wisconsin compared to Kansas?
The average high temperature in Milwaukee is 55°F, compared to 68°F in Wichita. Milwaukee receives around 34.8 in of rainfall per year, while Wichita gets 32.6 in.
