Home / States / District of Columbia vs Kansas
District of Columbia vs Kansas
Regional price parities head to head: how far the same dollar goes in District of Columbia and Kansas, with rents and goods split out. Kansas is the cheaper side. Statistics, not reviews.
Rents · U.S. = 100
-54% in KANDistrict of Columbia rents run 84% higher
five bands of the 51-state ladder · green cheaper → red pricier · price parity
How expensive · of 51
39 places apartDistrict of Columbia is 3rd most expensive state
ranked cheapest #1 → priciest #51 · overall parity
Safety · 0–100
KAN +4 ptsKansas is safer by 4 points
score 0–100 from the homicide rate · higher is safer · our score
6Grocery pricesmeasuredstate columns · Costely estimate
Food prices: District of Columbia vs Kansas
Estimated from the measured U.S. average shop price × the state's goods parity — District of Columbia 106.5, Kansas 94.0. The gap between the two columns is the same on every row, because both come from one national price through parity.
State grocery prices are estimates, not measured. Each state column is the measured U.S. average price multiplied by that state’s goods parity; grocery prices are not published for individual states. Petrol and household energy are deliberately absent here — goods parity fails on them, so they carry real per-state prices in their own block instead.
1Moving to Kansas
5What it means
$1,000 in Kansas buys what $1,220 buys in District of Columbia
because the same basket is priced 18% lower in Kansas — 90.1 against 109.9 on the price parities.
state averages · estimate
4Actual pay
Private-sector pay, before tax
Averages, not medians — large salaries lift them above what a typical worker earns.
District of Columbia — $3,758 more a month in real terms
Prices widen a gap that already exists on paper — above all through rents.
Monthly = weekly × 52 ÷ 12; the price adjustment divides by the overall parity — both our own calculations.
5Pay by occupationmeasured
Salary compared: District of Columbia and Kansas
Annual median wage, all industries, May 2025. Sorted by the widest gap between District of Columbia and Kansas — these are measured wages, before tax, with no adjustment for local prices.
Note: Estimates are medians for all workers in the occupation statewide, produced by a model-based method using three years of survey data and the 2018 SOC. Occupations with too few workers in a state are suppressed by the BLS and are left blank. A dash means that occupation is not published for that state. Wages are reproduced as published; the ordering and the Diff column are ours.
4cHousing and property taxmeasured
What housing costs: District of Columbia and Kansas
Medians from the American Community Survey, 2020-2024 five-year estimates. Published marks a figure reproduced as it stands; Costely marks a ratio we worked out from those figures.
A state with no income tax still has to raise money somewhere, and property tax is usually where. On the median home that is $4,312 a year in District of Columbia against $2,798 in Kansas — worth weighing against any difference in pay.
Note: Medians are for the whole state across the five years, not a current asking price. The effective property tax rate, the price-to-income ratio and the share of homes with a large electricity bill are worked out by us from the tables above. Rows marked as published are reproduced as they stand; the ratios, the difference column and the all-state average are ours.
4bEnergy pricesmeasured
Electricity, gas and petrol prices: District of Columbia and Kansas
Retail prices as published. Every row carries its own mark: Published where the figure is reproduced as it stands, Costely where we converted or worked it out ourselves.
Note: Electricity and gas prices are monthly and are shown as published. Where a state has not yet reported the latest month, the most recent month it did report is used and named on the card. Petrol is published per million Btu for every state, so the price per gallon is our own conversion at the EIA factor of 5.053 million Btu per 42-gallon barrel; the EIA publishes a price per gallon only for a handful of states. Rows marked as published are reproduced as they stand; the conversion to a price per gallon, the difference column and the all-state average are our own.
3Climate · state capitals
Weather and climate: District of Columbia against Kansas, month by month
How warm and how wet each month is, averaged over twenty years. Measured in Washington and Topeka — the capital city, not the whole state.
Pinch with two fingers to zoom · double-tap to reset.
Washington · District of Columbia Topeka · Kansas
Warmest
July in both — 25.8° vs 26.5°
Coldest
January — 0.1° vs -1.9°
Kinder months to visit
May–Sep in Washington · May–Jun, Aug–Sep in Topeka
“Kinder months” is our own reading: a mean of 15–26 °C with moderate rain, measured at the capital.
Everything else
All the comparisons on this page’s two sides
All comparisons with District of Columbia 50
- District of Columbia vs Alabama
- District of Columbia vs Alaska
- District of Columbia vs Arizona
- District of Columbia vs Arkansas
- District of Columbia vs California
- District of Columbia vs Colorado
- District of Columbia vs Connecticut
- District of Columbia vs Delaware
- District of Columbia vs Florida
- District of Columbia vs Georgia
- District of Columbia vs Hawaii
- District of Columbia vs Idaho
- District of Columbia vs Illinois
- District of Columbia vs Indiana
- District of Columbia vs Iowa
- District of Columbia vs Kansas
- District of Columbia vs Kentucky
- District of Columbia vs Louisiana
- District of Columbia vs Maine
- District of Columbia vs Maryland
- District of Columbia vs Massachusetts
- District of Columbia vs Michigan
- District of Columbia vs Minnesota
- District of Columbia vs Mississippi
- District of Columbia vs Missouri
- District of Columbia vs Montana
- District of Columbia vs Nebraska
- District of Columbia vs Nevada
- District of Columbia vs New Hampshire
- District of Columbia vs New Jersey
- District of Columbia vs New Mexico
- District of Columbia vs New York
- District of Columbia vs North Carolina
- District of Columbia vs North Dakota
- District of Columbia vs Ohio
- District of Columbia vs Oklahoma
- District of Columbia vs Oregon
- District of Columbia vs Pennsylvania
- District of Columbia vs Rhode Island
- District of Columbia vs South Carolina
- District of Columbia vs South Dakota
- District of Columbia vs Tennessee
- District of Columbia vs Texas
- District of Columbia vs Utah
- District of Columbia vs Vermont
- District of Columbia vs Virginia
- District of Columbia vs Washington
- District of Columbia vs West Virginia
- District of Columbia vs Wisconsin
- District of Columbia vs Wyoming
All comparisons with Kansas 50
- Kansas vs Alabama
- Kansas vs Alaska
- Kansas vs Arizona
- Kansas vs Arkansas
- Kansas vs California
- Kansas vs Colorado
- Kansas vs Connecticut
- Kansas vs Delaware
- Kansas vs District of Columbia
- Kansas vs Florida
- Kansas vs Georgia
- Kansas vs Hawaii
- Kansas vs Idaho
- Kansas vs Illinois
- Kansas vs Indiana
- Kansas vs Iowa
- Kansas vs Kentucky
- Kansas vs Louisiana
- Kansas vs Maine
- Kansas vs Maryland
- Kansas vs Massachusetts
- Kansas vs Michigan
- Kansas vs Minnesota
- Kansas vs Mississippi
- Kansas vs Missouri
- Kansas vs Montana
- Kansas vs Nebraska
- Kansas vs Nevada
- Kansas vs New Hampshire
- Kansas vs New Jersey
- Kansas vs New Mexico
- Kansas vs New York
- Kansas vs North Carolina
- Kansas vs North Dakota
- Kansas vs Ohio
- Kansas vs Oklahoma
- Kansas vs Oregon
- Kansas vs Pennsylvania
- Kansas vs Rhode Island
- Kansas vs South Carolina
- Kansas vs South Dakota
- Kansas vs Tennessee
- Kansas vs Texas
- Kansas vs Utah
- Kansas vs Vermont
- Kansas vs Virginia
- Kansas vs Washington
- Kansas vs West Virginia
- Kansas vs Wisconsin
- Kansas vs Wyoming
7Sources & licences
Every figure, traceable
Our calculations, not official figures.
Sources: BEA Regional Price Parities · BLS Current Employment Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Energy Information Administration · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · BLS Average Price Data · FBI Crime Data Explorer · NASA POWER · U.S. Energy Information Administration · release v2026-08
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · Regional Price Parities by state, table SARPP · reference year 2024, released February 2026 · bea.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Parities are reproduced as published, with the U.S. average set to 100 by the source itself. Gaps, rankings and the “cheaper side” wording are Costely calculations. Note: the BEA does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Average Price Data, Consumer Price Index programme, U.S. city average · retrieved 15 August 2026 via the BLS Public Data API · bls.gov/cpi · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. The U.S. column reproduces the measured price as published. Note: the BLS does not publish grocery prices by state; the state columns are Costely estimates — the national price multiplied by the state's BEA goods parity — and are labelled as such on the page. Fuel and household energy are excluded from that method deliberately, because goods parity does not describe them. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. The BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. Rights holder: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey, 5-year estimates, 2020-2024 five-year estimates, retrieved 17 August 2026 via the Census Bureau Data API · census.gov/data/developers · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Tables: B25064 median gross rent; B25077 median value of owner-occupied homes; B25103 median real estate taxes paid; B19013 median household income; B25088 median selected monthly owner costs; B25071 median gross rent as a share of household income; B25132 monthly electricity costs. Figures are reproduced as published and are never altered while still being attributed to the Census Bureau; the effective tax rate, the price-to-income ratio, the share of homes with a large electricity bill, the difference column and the all-state average are Costely calculations. Note: Medians are for the whole state across the five years, not a current asking price. The effective property tax rate, the price-to-income ratio and the share of homes with a large electricity bill are worked out by us from the tables above. No attempt is made to identify any individual respondent, and no Census media assets are used.
Rights holder: U.S. Energy Information Administration · residential electricity, residential natural gas and motor gasoline prices, published August 2026, retrieved 15 August 2026 via the EIA API v2 · series: electricity — Electric Power Monthly, retail sales of electricity, residential sector, cents per kilowatt-hour; natural gas — Natural Gas Monthly, price of natural gas delivered to residential consumers, dollars per thousand cubic feet; petrol — State Energy Data System, motor gasoline price in the transportation sector, dollars per million Btu · eia.gov/opendata · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially, with the EIA cited as the source and the publication date given. Electricity and natural gas are reproduced as published. Note: Electricity and gas prices are monthly and are shown as published. Where a state has not yet reported the latest month, the most recent month it did report is used and named on the card. Petrol is published per million Btu for every state, so the price per gallon is our own conversion at the EIA factor of 5.053 million Btu per 42-gallon barrel; the EIA publishes a price per gallon only for a handful of states. The difference column and the all-state average are Costely calculations and are not EIA publications. The EIA emblem is trademarked and is not used here, and nothing on this site implies EIA endorsement or approval.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — annual median wage, all industries, statewide, series datatype 13 · May 2025, retrieved 15 August 2026 via the BLS Public Data API · bls.gov/oes · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially, with the BLS cited as the source. Wages are reproduced as published; the ordering of rows and the difference column are Costely calculations. Note: these are medians for all workers in an occupation across a whole state, before tax and before any adjustment for local prices. Estimates are medians for all workers in the occupation statewide, produced by a model-based method using three years of survey data and the 2018 SOC. Occupations with too few workers in a state are suppressed by the BLS and are left blank. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. The BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages — average weekly wage, private ownership, aggregation level 51 statewide · 2025 Q4, retrieved 20 August 2026 via the QCEW open data files · bls.gov/cew · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Weekly wages are reproduced as published; monthly figures and the price adjustment are Costely calculations. Note: these are averages, not medians, and cover only employment covered by unemployment insurance. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. The BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Energy Information Administration (August 2026) · motor gasoline, residential electricity and residential natural gas by state · retrieved 15 August 2026 · eia.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Prices are reproduced as published; the comparison against the average across states is a Costely calculation. Note: the EIA logo is a registered trademark and is not used here; the EIA does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Current Employment Statistics, State and Metro Area — average hourly earnings and average weekly hours, total private · series SMU..000000500000003 and SMU..000000500000002 · June 2026, retrieved 13 August 2026 via the BLS Public Data API · bls.gov/sae · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Monthly totals, the price-adjusted column and the year-on-year change are Costely calculations. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. Note: the BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Local Area Unemployment Statistics · series LAUST..0000000000003, seasonally adjusted · June 2026, retrieved 13 August 2026 · bls.gov/lau · public domain. Rates are reproduced as published; the comparison between states is ours. Note: the most recent months are preliminary and revised later by the BLS.
Rights holder: NASA Langley Research Center · POWER Project, MERRA-2 monthly climatology, T2M and PRECTOTCORR · averaging period January 2001 – December 2020 · retrieved 13 August 2026 · power.larc.nasa.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Each figure is the model grid cell containing the state capital, reproduced as published. Note: a state capital is not the whole state, and the “kinder months to visit” band is a Costely reading, not a NASA recommendation.
Rights holder: Federal Bureau of Investigation · Crime Data Explorer, Uniform Crime Reporting — summarized homicide offence rate per 100,000 population · reference year 2024 (2022 where a state has not yet reported a full year) · retrieved 14 August 2026 · cde.ucr.cjis.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. The 0–100 score is a Costely transformation, clamp(105 − 20·ln(1 + rate), 0, 100), the same formula we apply to countries. Note: reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so agency coverage varies by state and year; the score measures homicide only and is not an official safety rating. The FBI does not endorse this site.