Atlanta, GA vs Olympia, WA
Moving from Atlanta to Olympia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($382,938 → $533,918 median home) and taxes.
Atlanta vs Olympia at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Atlanta, GA, you'd need about $105,851 in Olympia, WA (+$5,851).
Livability — Atlanta, GA: 66 · Olympia, WA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Atlanta vs 1,686 sqft in Olympia ($187 vs $297 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Atlanta, GA | Olympia, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,080 | $24,492 | +$2,412 |
| Groceries | $4,926 | $5,246 | +$319 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $4,075 | +$560 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,548 | −$108 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,500 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $10,533 | $7,085 | −$3,448 |
| Total | $44,810 | $43,946 | −$865 |
Side by side
| Metric | Atlanta, GA | Olympia, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.5 | 106.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.04% | 5.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | 9.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $6.05 |
| Median home price | $382,938 | $533,918 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 6.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $297 |
| Median rent | $1,840 | $2,041 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.85% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 32 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $74 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $123 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.4 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.2 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 33% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |