New York, NY vs Spokane, WA
Moving from New York to Spokane? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $423,842 median home) and taxes.
New York vs Spokane 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $89,596 in Spokane, WA (−$10,404).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Spokane, WA: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 2,123 sqft in Spokane ($455 vs $236 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Spokane, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $18,588 | −$23,448 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $5,246 | −$169 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $4,075 | +$180 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,548 | −$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,500 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $6,160 | −$17,336 |
| Total | $79,622 | $37,117 | −$42,505 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Spokane, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 100.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 5.75% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 6.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.74 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $423,842 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $236 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,549 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 16.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 29.8 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 52% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |