What is the cost of living in Wichita?

Wichita has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 88.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 66.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,099/month.

What is the median salary in Wichita?

The median salary in Wichita is $60,852 annually (mean: $64,538). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers, Retail Salespersons.

The violent crime rate in the Wichita area is 456 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2090 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Wichita?

The state of KS has 1,354 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.8:1. Charter schools make up 0.7% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Wichita?

Infant center-based childcare in the Wichita area averages $5,783 per year. Preschool averages $5,533/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Wichita a good place to relocate?

Wichita has a Life Score of 58.1/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Wichita outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Wichita sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Wichita ranks #158 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Wichita, KS

BEA RPP 88.9 ranks #75 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

88.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,099
2BR rent / mo: $60,852
Median salary: 53.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Wichita ranks #158 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53.5/100), with its strongest marks in climate and cost of living.

#158
of 387 US metros · Above median: 2,970,606
metro-area population: 456
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,354
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (14/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Wichita ranks #158 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 88.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,099/mo, median salary $60,852; LiveAbility Score 53.5/100, strongest in climate and cost of living.

Signature: BEA RPP 88.9 ranks #75 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 88.9 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,099/mo.

LiveAbility 53.5/100 keeps Wichita in the middle third (#158 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Wichita area is 300,890.

Wichita vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

54 Top 41% higher than 59% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Wichita housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Wichita MSA; housing RPP 66.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,099/mo.

Studio

$782

/month

1 Bedroom

$849

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,099

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,444

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,784

/month

Wichita wages and employment

Wichita posts 300,890 total employment with median salary $60,852 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$60,852

Mean Salary

$64,538

Total Employment

300,890

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,420
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers	$59,850
Retail Salespersons	$30,760
Registered Nurses	$76,540
Cashiers	$28,430

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Wichita area from NCES.

Schools

1,354

Enrollment

478,187

Student:Teacher

13.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Wichita area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$5,783

per year

Toddler (Center)

$5,711

per year

Preschool (Center)

$5,533

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Wichita's composite Life Score is 58.1/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

81/100

Elite

Wages

38/100

Below average

Rent

81/100

Elite

Crime

16/100

Bottom decile

Schools

31/100

Weak

Childcare

99/100

Elite

Environment

69/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Wichita ranks #158 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (83/100)

Climate

83
Cost of living

81
Housing

81
Schools

69
Job market

38
Air quality

30
Safety

16
Low hazard

14

What this shows Wichita's strongest dimensions are climate and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 14/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Wichita to

Hanford-Corcoran Harrisburg-Carlisle Harrisonburg Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford Hattiesburg Helena

Metros near Wichita on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Wichita on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Wichita cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Wichita wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Wichita?

Wichita runs a $60,852 median salary at a 88.9 cost index, ranking #158 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Wichita's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Wichita head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Wichita
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.