Wichita vs Manhattan leftover
Moving to Manhattan costs you $431 a month
$2,174/mo leftover in Manhattan vs $2,605 in Wichita after tax and rent ($431 less). −$5,172 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Wichita leftover
$2,605
a month after tax and rent
Manhattan leftover
$2,174
−$431 vs Wichita
Compare Wichita to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Wichita.
Monthly gap
Wichita → Manhattan
$431
less / month in Wichita
$2,174 in Manhattan · $2,605 in Wichita · 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, 118 households moved Wichita → Manhattan (avg AGI $41,432). 128 went the other way. The whole move →
−$431 / mo
| Per month | Wichita | Manhattan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,042 | $6,252 | −$789 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,758 | $1,480 | −$278 |
| Take-home pay | $5,284 | $4,773 | −$511 |
| Rent | $857 | $855 | −$2 |
| Getting around | $543 | $465 | −$78 |
| Groceries | $353 | $353 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $397 | $397 | $0 |
| Utilities | $221 | $221 | $0 |
| Everything else | $309 | $309 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,605 | $2,174 | −$431 |
To break even in Manhattan, you'd need to earn
$83,000
Household gross, versus $84,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Wichita does now.
The tax difference alone
+$529
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.0% in Wichita, 23.7% in Manhattan.
More about Manhattan
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.
Manhattan, KS in full
State income tax topping out at 5.58%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,018 and 224 sunny days; commutes average 18 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Manhattan on Manhattan wages.
Manhattan → Wichita →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Manhattan than Wichita?
A one-bedroom is about $857 in Wichita versus $855 in Manhattan. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $431 a month lower in Manhattan. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Manhattan have state income tax?
Manhattan is in Kansas, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Wichita to Manhattan?
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 Wichita and Manhattan 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.