Rank #10 of 33
Kansas City, MO
Kansas City, MO-KS
9.8
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$2.44
Avg taco price
$23.79
Median hourly wage (2024)
$3.00
Fast-casual taqueria
$1.89
Taco Bell crunchy taco
Kansas City sits above the national average. An hour of local work buys 9.8 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (+0.5 vs national average).
Local note
Kansas City's taco scene is anchored on the Westside and Argentine, neighborhoods with deep Mexican-American roots that predate the city's well-known barbecue tradition. Standard taqueria prices have stayed close to $3, and weekday specials at $1–2 per taco are common.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Westside / Argentine corridor — Taqueria Mexico, El Camino Real ($1 Wed special), Tacos El Gallo, Taqueria Ibarra. Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $1.89 (mid-cost market).
Average taco price ($2.44) is $0.33 below the national average of $2.77.
How this is calculated. Tacos per hour = median hourly wage ÷ average taco price.
Average taco price is the mean of the fast-casual taqueria anchor and the local Taco Bell crunchy taco price.
Wages come from BLS OEWS, May 2024, MSA-level median for all occupations.
Full methodology.