Miami, FL vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Miami to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($475,622 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Miami 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 Miami, FL, you'd need about $100,574 in Seattle, WA (+$574).
Livability — Miami, FL: 57 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,945 sqft in Miami vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($257 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Miami, FL | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $32,316 | $26,784 | −$5,532 |
| Groceries | $5,091 | $5,405 | +$314 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $4,075 | −$725 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,548 | −$108 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,500 | −$2,700 |
| Taxes | $5,772 | $8,826 | +$3,054 |
| Total | $53,835 | $48,138 | −$5,697 |
Side by side
| Metric | Miami, FL | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.1 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.38 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $475,622 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $257 | $417 |
| Median rent | $2,693 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 67.4 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 70% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |