Nashville, TN vs Olympia, WA
Moving from Nashville to Olympia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $533,918 median home) and taxes.
Nashville 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 Nashville, TN, you'd need about $109,622 in Olympia, WA (+$9,622).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Olympia, WA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 1,686 sqft in Olympia ($228 vs $297 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Olympia, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $24,492 | +$2,916 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $5,246 | +$531 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,075 | +$945 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,548 | −$60 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $7,085 | +$1,855 |
| Total | $38,459 | $43,946 | +$5,487 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Olympia, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 106.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 9.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 26 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $6.05 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $533,918 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 6.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $297 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $2,041 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |