Maybe your wallet has been telling you for some time, but now there are government numbers saying it as well: Lawrence is the most expensive metro area in the state.
The latest figures from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis show Lawrence residents are feeling the pinch in two areas. The city's cost of living, although lower than the national average, is higher than in any other metro area in Kansas. To make Lawrence's predicament worse, residents also earn far less than those in other Kansas communities.
How big is the difference, you ask? Well, take Manhattan for example. The college community just west of us on Interstate 70 has a cost of living that is about 3.6 percent cheaper than Lawrence's. The per capita, inflation-adjusted income for a Manhattan resident, though, is about $7,700 more than what Lawrence residents earn.
In other words, not only are there more dollars per person in Manhattan, but they buy more as well.
It is an equation that is true in the three other Kansas metro areas of Topeka, Kansas City and Wichita as well. The numbers also show Lawrence doesn't fare well on a regional basis, either.
Local reaction
Community leaders said they weren't pleased to hear the new numbers, but also weren't shocked.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2014/apr/2 ... igh-price/