Colorado Springs, CO vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Colorado Springs to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($457,300 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs, CO, you'd need about $114,899 in Seattle, WA (+$14,899).
Livability — Colorado Springs, CO: 60 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,077 sqft in Colorado Springs vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($241 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Colorado Springs, CO | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,204 | $26,784 | +$5,580 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $5,405 | +$591 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $4,075 | +$25 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,548 | −$240 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,500 | −$1,300 |
| Taxes | $8,740 | $8,826 | +$87 |
| Total | $43,395 | $48,138 | +$4,743 |
Side by side
| Metric | Colorado Springs, CO | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.1 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.60% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.1% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.58 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $457,300 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $241 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,767 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.41% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |