Moving to Kansas from Wisconsin
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Wisconsin to Kansas — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Wisconsin to Kansas, you would find that Kansas is 2.6% cheaper than Wisconsin. A $75,000 salary in Wisconsin would need to be roughly $73,000 in Kansas to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Wichita averages 68°F vs 55°F in Milwaukee, making it significantly warmer. Milwaukee and Wichita are about 620 mi apart.
Is Kansas cheaper than Wisconsin?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 1.2% less
Groceries
pay 11.4% more
Transportation
pay 6.3% less
Housing
pay 5.1% less
Childcare
pay 39.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.3% 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 Kansas?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $73,000
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 Wisconsin.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Wisconsin and Kansas 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 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
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in adult obesity 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
Wisconsin 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
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
Wisconsin generally does better on family life, though Kansas leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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 Wisconsin
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Milwaukee | Wichita |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 35°/21°F (1°/-6°C) | 49°/28°F (10°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 65°/47°F (18°/8°C) | 77°/55°F (25°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/61°F (25°/16°C) | 89°/66°F (32°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 46°/32°F (8°/0°C) | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Milwaukee | Wichita |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29°/16°F (-1.7°/-9.1°C) | 42°/22°F (5.8°/-5.6°C) |
| Feb | 33°/19°F (0.3°/-7.1°C) | 48°/26°F (9.0°/-3.3°C) |
| Mar | 42°/28°F (5.8°/-2.4°C) | 58°/35°F (14.4°/1.7°C) |
| Apr | 54°/37°F (12.1°/2.9°C) | 68°/44°F (19.8°/6.9°C) |
| May | 65°/47°F (18.3°/8.1°C) | 77°/55°F (24.8°/12.9°C) |
| Jun | 75°/57°F (24.1°/13.9°C) | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.3°C) |
| Jul | 80°/64°F (26.7°/17.5°C) | 92°/70°F (33.5°/21.0°C) |
| Aug | 78°/63°F (25.8°/17.2°C) | 91°/69°F (32.9°/20.4°C) |
| Sep | 71°/55°F (21.8°/12.7°C) | 83°/60°F (28.1°/15.3°C) |
| Oct | 59°/43°F (15.2°/6.2°C) | 70°/47°F (20.9°/8.3°C) |
| Nov | 46°/32°F (7.8°/0.0°C) | 56°/35°F (13.4°/1.4°C) |
| Dec | 33°/20°F (0.4°/-6.6°C) | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Kansas than Wisconsin?
Generally yes: Kansas runs about 3% cheaper than Wisconsin on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Kansas?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,250 in Kansas for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Kansas safe?
Wisconsin performs better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Kansas compared to Wisconsin?
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Kansas compared to Wisconsin?
The average high temperature in Wichita is 68°F, compared to 55°F in Milwaukee. Wichita receives around 32.6 in of rainfall per year, while Milwaukee gets 34.8 in.
