Kennewick, WA vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Kennewick to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($441,524 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Kennewick vs Detroit 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 Kennewick, WA, you'd need about $99,294 in Detroit, MI (−$706).
Livability — Kennewick, WA: 61 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,038 sqft in Kennewick vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($245 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kennewick, WA | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,556 | $18,000 | −$2,556 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,896 | −$349 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $4,575 | +$500 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,316 | +$768 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $6,004 | $9,547 | +$3,543 |
| Total | $38,929 | $40,634 | +$1,706 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kennewick, WA | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.9 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.10% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 36 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.63 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $441,524 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $245 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,713 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.82% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |