$100k salary, packing up from Chicago
changea dispatch from
wichita
KS
37.69°N
97.34°W
Wichita is the Air Capital of the World, with Cessna, Beechcraft, and major Spirit AeroSystems facilities all here. The Arkansas River runs through downtown, and the Old Town district has brick streets, breweries, and the kind of friendly Kansas pace that makes the rest of the country envious. The flatness is real, and the sunsets are enormous because of it.
in our guides
the verdict
less monthly outlay than Chicago
Move to Wichita and the monthly math gets easier. Chicago's rent is the headline; Wichita's is a footnote.
a quick ledger.
$1,173/mo
46% cheaper than Chicago(vs $2,170/mo)
5.7%
$63/mo more in state tax than Chicago
vs 4.95% in Chicago
$6,685/mo
$934 more than Chicago
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$221k
39% cheaper than Chicago
vs $365k in Chicago
653k
vs 9.3M in Chicago
field notes, weather & such.
164
pleasant days a year, in wichita.
Chicago only manages 153 of those. Summer is real but not punishing: 30 days top 95° vs Chicago's 1.
But the calendar thins out: Chicago stays 71.9× busier.
52/100
26% lower than Chicago
vs 70/100 in Chicago
Closest outdoor draw: El Dorado State Park, 33 mi.
69/100
31% lower than Chicago
vs 100/100 in Chicago
11
95% fewer than Chicago
vs 217 nonstops in Chicago
neighbors of wichita on the map of tradeoffs:
compare wichita with:
