Why People Are Ditching Kansas for Life in Missouri

The Jayhawks will not be happy about this, but the truth hurts. New data shows that many are fleeing Kansas and their destination is an unusual one. It's across the state line to archrival Missouri and I think I know why.

Let's begin with the migration facts - more people move to Missouri from Kansas than any other state

I can show you data from multiple sources that prove this is true. A recent study by Stacker showed that 22,333 Kansas residents left the state and moved to Missouri in just one year. I'll admit that data is a couple years old now, but it gives you an idea of how this Kansas to Missouri migration is real.

Newer data from just a few months ago from Consumer Affairs shows this moving from Kansas to Missouri trend has not slowed down. It actually seems to have increased.

Why are so many in Kansas fleeing the state for Missouri?

A very helpful real estate website did a side-by-side comparison of Kansas and Missouri and here are some key ways Missouri tops Kansas for many families.

• Property tax in Missouri is 1.01% the median compared to 1.43% in Kansas
• Income tax rate is 2 - 4.95% in Missouri compared to 3.1 to 5.7% in Kansas
• Missouri's sales tax rate is 4.225% compared to 6.5% in Kansas
• Missouri had triple the number of new businesses started in one year compared to Kansas
• Missouri has 4 professional sports teams while Kansas has how many? (Don't even think about stealing the Chiefs and Royals, by the way)
• Missouri has almost double the amount of state parks
• Missouri has hundreds of lakes compared to maybe 20 in Kansas

Both states have a relatively low cost of living, but there are just many more things for families to do in Missouri compared to the land of the Jayhawks. No offense intended to Kansas, but it's not hard to understand why so many moving trucks pass through Kansas City into the Show Me State. Numbers don't lie.