Midwest · Updated October 2026
Kansas in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,212/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
19.3%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
5.58%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
1.25%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
93.9
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
32nd
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Kansas stands out: the 7th smallest rent-to-income bite and the 5th lowest everyday costs among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the 9th highest violent crime.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 8.7% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 13th highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Wichita (Wichita station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 46°F | 25°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 68°F | 45°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 91°F | 68°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 70°F | 47°F |
$1,043/mo two-bedroom · $823 one-bedroom (Wichita, KS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Wichita is the aviation-manufacturing capital of the country, building private aircraft, with extremely affordable housing and a flat, windy prairie setting. Practical rather than scenic, with tornado season a genuine feature.
$1,546/mo two-bedroom · $1,366 one-bedroom (Kansas City, MO-KS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Overland Park is Kansas City's affluent Kansas-side suburb — excellent schools, corporate offices, and safe, spread-out neighbourhoods. Expensive for Kansas, thoroughly suburban, and reliant on the wider metro for culture.
$1,546/mo two-bedroom · $1,366 one-bedroom (Kansas City, MO-KS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Kansas City, Kansas is the industrial, more affordable side of the state line, with a large Latino community, a NASCAR speedway and easy access to the Missouri-side amenities. Cheap housing and a working-class character.
$1,272/mo two-bedroom · $1,103 one-bedroom (Lawrence, KS MSA)
Lawrence is a lively, liberal university town built around the University of Kansas, with a genuinely good main street and a strong music history. Affordable, hilly for Kansas, and much quieter in summer.
$1,172/mo two-bedroom · $913 one-bedroom (Topeka, KS MSA)
Topeka is the state capital — government jobs, civil-rights history and some of the cheapest housing in the country. Quiet, flat and modest, with limited nightlife and an easy commute to anywhere in town.
$1,107/mo two-bedroom · $924 one-bedroom (Manhattan, KS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Manhattan, Kansas is Kansas State's town in the Flint Hills, with a nearby Army post at Fort Riley. Cheap, friendly, and dominated by the university and military rhythms.
$1,018/mo two-bedroom · $778 one-bedroom (Reno County, KS)
Hutchinson is a central Kansas city known for salt mines, the Kansas State Fair and the Cosmosphere space museum. Very cheap and quiet, about an hour from Wichita.
$1,097/mo two-bedroom · $839 one-bedroom (Saline County, KS)
Salina is a crossroads city at the junction of I-70 and I-135 in central Kansas, with regional healthcare and manufacturing. Low costs, a revived downtown and a small-city pace.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Kansas’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 5.58% (Kansas tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 8.7% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,212 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,004, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $547 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 93.9 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 66.2 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 19.3% of the state’s median household income of $75,514.
Kansas recorded 438.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 9th highest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are tornadoes. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Kansas’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 32nd percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.