Detroit, MI vs Kennewick, WA
Moving from Detroit to Kennewick? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $441,524 median home) and taxes.
Detroit vs Kennewick 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $100,711 in Kennewick, WA (+$711).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Kennewick, WA: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 2,038 sqft in Kennewick ($163 vs $245 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Kennewick, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $20,556 | +$2,556 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $5,246 | +$349 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $4,075 | −$500 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,548 | −$768 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $6,004 | −$3,543 |
| Total | $40,634 | $38,929 | −$1,706 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Kennewick, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 98.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 5.10% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 36 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.63 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $441,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $245 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,713 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.82% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |