Lawrence vs Wichita leftover
You'd keep $533 more a month in Wichita
$2,597/mo leftover in Wichita vs $2,064 in Lawrence after tax and rent ($533 more). +$6,396 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Lawrence leftover
$2,064
a month after tax and rent
Wichita leftover
$2,597
+$533 vs Lawrence
Compare Lawrence to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Lawrence.
Monthly gap
Lawrence → Wichita
$533
more / month in Wichita
$2,597 in Wichita · $2,064 in Lawrence · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 93 households moved Lawrence → Wichita (avg AGI $46,043). 117 went the other way. The whole move →
+$533 / mo
| Per month | Lawrence | Wichita | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,250 | $7,030 | +$780 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,479 | $1,754 | +$275 |
| Take-home pay | $4,771 | $5,276 | +$505 |
| Rent | $986 | $857 | −$129 |
| Getting around | $442 | $543 | +$101 |
| Groceries | $353 | $353 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $397 | $397 | $0 |
| Utilities | $221 | $221 | $0 |
| Everything else | $309 | $309 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,064 | $2,597 | +$533 |
To break even in Wichita, you'd need to earn
$74,500
Household gross, versus $75,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Lawrence does now.
The tax difference alone
−$522
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.7% in Lawrence, 24.9% in Wichita.
More about Wichita
Lawrence, KS in full
State income tax topping out at 5.58%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,174 and 224 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Wichita, KS in full
State income tax topping out at 5.58%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,020 and 232 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Wichita on Wichita wages.
Wichita → Lawrence →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Wichita than Lawrence?
A one-bedroom is about $986 in Lawrence versus $857 in Wichita. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $533 a month higher in Wichita. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Wichita have state income tax?
Wichita is in Kansas, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Lawrence to Wichita?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Kansas 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.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Lawrence and Wichita moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
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.