Minneapolis, MN vs Olympia, WA
Moving from Minneapolis to Olympia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($393,774 → $533,918 median home) and taxes.
Minneapolis 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 Minneapolis, MN, you'd need about $101,973 in Olympia, WA (+$1,973).
Livability — Minneapolis, MN: 54 · Olympia, WA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,285 sqft in Minneapolis vs 1,686 sqft in Olympia ($219 vs $297 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Minneapolis, MN | Olympia, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,652 | $24,492 | +$3,840 |
| Groceries | $5,227 | $5,246 | +$19 |
| Transportation | $3,375 | $4,075 | +$700 |
| Utilities | $1,776 | $1,548 | −$228 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $16,345 | $7,085 | −$9,260 |
| Total | $49,575 | $43,946 | −$5,629 |
Side by side
| Metric | Minneapolis, MN | Olympia, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.3 | 106.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.90% | 5.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.3% | 9.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.93 | $6.05 |
| Median home price | $393,774 | $533,918 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 6.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $219 | $297 |
| Median rent | $1,721 | $2,041 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.10% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.85% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.10% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.58% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $76 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $77 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 4 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 31.6 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.2 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 33% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |