Charleston, WV vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Charleston to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($148,817 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Seattle 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 Charleston, WV, you'd need about $126,582 in Seattle, WA (+$26,582).
Livability — Charleston, WV: 77 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,714 sqft in Charleston vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($88 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, WV | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,180 | $26,784 | +$11,604 |
| Groceries | $4,767 | $5,405 | +$638 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $4,075 | +$665 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $1,548 | −$192 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $8,230 | $8,826 | +$597 |
| Total | $34,627 | $48,138 | +$13,512 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, WV | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.76% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.3% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $148,817 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 2.7× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $88 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,265 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.65% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $68 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $253 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $73 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.5 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 12.0 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |