Topeka vs Lawrence leftover
Moving to Lawrence costs you $538 a month
$2,056/mo leftover in Lawrence vs $2,594 in Topeka after tax and rent ($538 less). −$6,456 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Topeka leftover
$2,594
a month after tax and rent
Lawrence leftover
$2,056
−$538 vs Topeka
Compare Topeka to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Topeka.
Monthly gap
Topeka → Lawrence
$538
less / month in Topeka
$2,056 in Lawrence · $2,594 in Topeka · 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, 457 households moved Topeka → Lawrence (avg AGI $46,168). 468 went the other way. The whole move →
−$538 / mo
| Per month | Topeka | Lawrence | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,250 | $6,238 | −$1,012 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,831 | $1,475 | −$357 |
| Take-home pay | $5,419 | $4,763 | −$656 |
| Rent | $1,022 | $986 | −$36 |
| Getting around | $524 | $442 | −$82 |
| Groceries | $353 | $353 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $397 | $397 | $0 |
| Utilities | $221 | $221 | $0 |
| Everything else | $309 | $309 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,594 | $2,056 | −$538 |
To break even in Lawrence, you'd need to earn
$85,000
Household gross, versus $87,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Topeka does now.
The tax difference alone
+$678
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.3% in Topeka, 23.6% in Lawrence.
More about Lawrence
Topeka, KS in full
State income tax topping out at 5.58%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,217 and 223 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
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.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Lawrence on Lawrence wages.
Lawrence → Topeka →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Lawrence than Topeka?
A one-bedroom is about $1,022 in Topeka versus $986 in Lawrence. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $538 a month lower in Lawrence. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Lawrence have state income tax?
Lawrence is in Kansas, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Topeka to Lawrence?
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 Topeka and Lawrence 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.