State comparison
Kansas vs Missouri: which state is better to live in?
Missouri costs a median household about $1,400 a year less in state and local taxes than Kansas, mostly because its income tax takes 4.5% of a median income against 5.5% in Kansas.
Kansas
Moderate tax burden · COL index 86
Wins 6 categories
Missouri
Moderate tax burden · COL index 86
Wins 5 categories
Taxes: Kansas vs Missouri
Kansas has a graduated income tax topping out at 5.7%, which works out to 5.5% on a median income of $74,580, or $4,074 a year. Missouri has a graduated income tax topping out at 4.7%, which works out to 4.5% on a median income of $74,580, or $3,325 a year. Missouri wins on income tax at 2026 rates.
Property tax is 1.24% of home value a year in Kansas and 0.88% in Missouri (Tax Foundation, 2023); on each state's median home that is $2,728 against $2,112, so Missouri has the lower rate.
Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.68% in Kansas and 8.33% in Missouri; Missouri is lower.
Add it up for a household earning $74,580 (the 2022 national median) and owning the median home: $8,744 a year in Kansas, $7,300 in Missouri. Missouri is cheaper on total state and local tax.
Housing and cost of living
Kansas's cost of living index is 86 and Missouri's is 86, where 100 is the national average; the two are level.
The median home costs $220K in Kansas and $240K in Missouri (Zillow, 2024), a $20K gap in Kansas's favor. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,050 a month in Kansas and $1,100 in Missouri.
Home insurance averages $4,500 a year in Kansas and $2,200 in Missouri, so Missouri is cheaper to insure.
Safety
Violent crime runs 410 incidents per 100,000 residents in Kansas and 581 in Missouri (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2023); Kansas is the safer state by that measure, with a rate 42% lower. Property crime is 2,225 per 100,000 in Kansas against 2,695 in Missouri, again favoring Kansas.
Health
Life expectancy is 77.2 years in Kansas and 75.3 in Missouri (County Health Rankings, 2024), a 1.9-year edge for Kansas. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Kansas's health system 29th of 50 and Missouri's 43rd, so Kansas scores better on care.
9.6% of Kansas residents have no health insurance against 8.2% in Missouri, which favors Missouri. Missouri expanded Medicaid and Kansas did not.
Schools
Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Kansas's K-12 schools 26th in the country and Missouri's 33rd, 7 places apart in Kansas's favor. Neither state runs a school-choice voucher program.
Laws and politics
In the 2024 presidential election Kansas went to Trump by 20 points and Missouri went to Trump by 19 points.
Kansas has permitless carry and a Giffords gun-law grade of F; Missouri has permitless carry and a grade of F.
Abortion is protected by state law in Kansas and banned with narrow exceptions in Missouri, and marijuana is illegal in Kansas and legal for adults in Missouri as of 2026. The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in Kansas and $12.30 in Missouri.
Climate and risk
Natural disaster risk is very high in Kansas (tornado, blizzard, drought) and high in Missouri (tornado, flood, ice-storm), so Missouri is the lower-risk state. Annual average air quality index is 38 in Kansas and 38 in Missouri (under 50 is good).
Tax figures use a household earning the national median income and owning each state's median home, at tax year 2026 rates, last checked against state sources on 2026-09-14. The table below has every number.
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
6
Kansas
5
Missouri
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Score For My Profile →Questions people ask
Is Kansas or Missouri better to live in?
Kansas wins more of the measures that decide a move. Missouri on taxes ($7,300 a year for a median household against $8,744); Kansas on safety (410 violent crimes per 100,000 against 581); Kansas on schools (ranked 26th against 33rd).
Which is cheaper, Kansas or Missouri?
Day-to-day costs are level: both states sit at a cost of living index of 86. The median home is $220K in Kansas and $240K in Missouri (2024). On state and local taxes Missouri saves a median household about $1,400 a year.
Does Kansas or Missouri have lower taxes?
Missouri. A household earning $74,580 pays about $8,744 a year in Kansas ($4,074 income tax, $2,728 property tax on the median home and $1,942 in sales tax) and $7,300 in Missouri ($3,325 income tax, $2,112 property tax on the median home and $1,864 in sales tax), at 2026 rates.
Which is safer, Kansas or Missouri?
Kansas, on the FBI's 2023 figures. Violent crime is 410 per 100,000 residents in Kansas and 581 in Missouri; property crime is 2,225 against 2,695.
Which has better schools, Kansas or Missouri?
Kansas. Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Kansas 26th of 50 for K-12 and Missouri 33rd.
Is Kansas or Missouri better for retirees?
Both treat retirement income about the same. Kansas taxes Social Security, partly exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax; Missouri taxes Social Security, partly exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax. Property tax on a median home is $2,728 a year in Kansas and $2,112 in Missouri.