Baltimore, MD vs Olympia, WA
Moving from Baltimore to Olympia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $533,918 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore 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 Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $103,078 in Olympia, WA (+$3,078).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Olympia, WA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 1,686 sqft in Olympia ($214 vs $297 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Olympia, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $24,492 | +$1,464 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $5,246 | +$171 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $4,075 | +$390 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,548 | −$840 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,500 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $7,085 | −$4,499 |
| Total | $47,160 | $43,946 | −$3,214 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Olympia, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 106.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 5.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 9.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $6.05 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $533,918 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 6.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $297 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $2,041 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 33% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |