Cost of Living in Liberal
Liberal's cost of living centers on genuinely affordable housing and rent, offset by a property tax rate running above Kansas's own statewide median and elevated statewide insurance costs.
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Learn moreGenuinely affordable housing and rent
Redfin's median sale price ran $155,000 (down 8.8% year-over-year), and one-bedroom rent averaged approximately $724/month -- genuinely affordable relative to national benchmarks, with a real, disclosed spread against Zillow's $146,126 average home value (base record).
An above-state-median property tax rate
Ownwell cites Liberal's median effective property tax rate at 1.92% -- above Kansas's own statewide median (1.29%-1.40% across sources), a real, disclosed cost this record does not soften (base record).
Kansas's real, low 5.58% state income tax
Kansas's real, current top individual income tax rate (5.58% under a two-bracket system) and full Social Security exemption apply in Liberal as statewide (base record).
Kansas's real, elevated statewide homeowners insurance
Kansas's statewide homeowners insurance average runs $3,714-$5,455/year, well above the national average, driven by tornado and hail exposure -- a real, disclosed cost applying in Liberal (base record).
Key takeaways
- Liberal's $155,000 median home sale price and ~$724/month one-bedroom rent run genuinely affordable.
- Liberal's 1.92% effective property tax rate runs above Kansas's own statewide median.
- Kansas's 5.58% top state income tax (2026) applies statewide, including in Liberal.
- Kansas's statewide homeowners insurance ($3,714-$5,455/year) is a real, disclosed elevated cost.
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