Just how affordable is Kansas? This report stacked it up against other states to see
Kansas has one of the lowest statewide costs of living in the nation, according to a ranking from online pharmacy store Now Patient. Comparatively low average prices for funerals, groceries and other expenses contributed to the state’s 49th overall ranking in the “US Costly States” list.
The Now Patient ranking was based on metrics such as gas prices, cost of groceries, funeral costs, a cost of living score, health insurance prices and the cost of gym memberships.
Sources included World Population Review, auto club AAA, Zippia, the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Value Penguin and Statista, according to Now Patient.
The individual category in which Kansas ranked the lowest for pricing was groceries. Now Patient reports the average cost of groceries per person per month at $261.35, compared to $556.76 in Hawaii, the most expensive state for groceries.
Does this ranking tell the whole story?
Although the Now Patient ranking named Kansas one of the least costly states to live in, it’s unaffordable for those in Wichita to live on the state’s minimum wage, according to one calculation.
A single Wichita resident without children needs to make $14.96 per hour to afford basic necessities, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator. Kansas’ minimum wage is the same as the federal government’s at $7.25 an hour.
To afford a typically priced two-bedroom rental home, a Kansas resident needs to make $18.71 an hour, according to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Using this “housing wage,” an individual would have to work 103 hours per week at minimum wage to afford to rent a two-bedroom.
Rent prices have continued to climb in Wichita this year, and in July the median home sale price in the metro area was at $225,000, according to real estate site Redfin.
Another necessity for most residents, gas, is more expensive than it was earlier this summer, according to data from AAA. The US Costly States ranking recorded gas prices from AAA in mid-July, when the average cost per gallon was $3.256. Now, it costs more than $3.70.
Here’s more information from AAA on gas prices from June 2022 through September:
Note: This graphic will automatically update as new data become available.
Cost of living in Kansas
Here’s how Kansas performed in Now Patient’s ranking:
Funeral costs: 47th place, $6,808 average funeral cost
Gas prices: 41st place, $3.256 per gallon
Cost of groceries: 49th place, $261.35 average grocery cost per month per person
Cost of living score (includes housing costs, utilities and more): 48th place, score of 87.7
Health insurance: 19th place, $565
Gym membership: 17th place, $30
Overall place: 49th
