Houston, TX vs Olympia, WA
Moving from Houston to Olympia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $533,918 median home) and taxes.
Houston 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 Houston, TX, you'd need about $106,644 in Olympia, WA (+$6,644).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Olympia, WA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 1,686 sqft in Olympia ($147 vs $297 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Olympia, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $24,492 | +$4,824 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $5,246 | +$161 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,075 | +$400 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,548 | −$288 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,500 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $7,085 | −$314 |
| Total | $41,263 | $43,946 | +$2,683 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Olympia, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 106.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 5.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 9.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 26 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $6.05 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $533,918 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 6.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $297 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $2,041 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |