Moving from Kansas City to Austin
You'd keep $581 more a month in Austin
+$6,972 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Kansas City leftover
$2,596
a month after tax and rent
Austin leftover
$3,177
+$581 vs Kansas City
In 2022-2023, 285 households moved Kansas City → Austin (avg AGI $97,116). 135 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Kansas City | Austin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $8,131 | +$547 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,905 | $1,712 | −$193 |
| Take-home pay | $5,679 | $6,419 | +$740 |
| Rent | $1,184 | $1,226 | +$42 |
| Getting around | $551 | $566 | +$15 |
| Groceries | $372 | $400 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $450 | +$31 |
| Utilities | $233 | $250 | +$17 |
| Everything else | $326 | $350 | +$24 |
| Left over | $2,596 | $3,177 | +$581 |
To break even in Austin, you'd need to earn
$87,500
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Kansas City does now.
The tax difference alone
+$4,260
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about Austin
Kansas City, MO in full
Genuinely low cost of living for a metro with real amenities.
Austin, TX in full
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Austin on Austin wages.
Austin → Kansas City →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Austin than Kansas City?
A one-bedroom is about $1,184 in Kansas City versus $1,226 in Austin. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $581 a month higher in Austin. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Austin have state income tax?
Austin is in Texas, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Kansas City to Austin?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Texas tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.