Olympia, WA vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Olympia to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($533,918 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Olympia vs Baltimore 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 Olympia, WA, you'd need about $97,014 in Baltimore, MD (−$2,986).
Livability — Olympia, WA: 52 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,686 sqft in Olympia vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($297 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Olympia, WA | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,492 | $23,028 | −$1,464 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $5,075 | −$171 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,685 | −$390 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,388 | +$840 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,400 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $7,085 | $11,584 | +$4,499 |
| Total | $43,946 | $47,160 | +$3,214 |
Side by side
| Metric | Olympia, WA | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.4 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.49% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.0% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 26 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.05 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $533,918 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $297 | $214 |
| Median rent | $2,041 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |