Olympia, WA vs Providence, RI
Moving from Olympia to Providence? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($533,918 → $524,867 median home) and taxes.
Olympia vs Providence 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 $95,441 in Providence, RI (−$4,559).
Livability — Olympia, WA: 52 · Providence, RI: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,686 sqft in Olympia vs 1,524 sqft in Providence ($297 vs $328 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Olympia, WA | Providence, RI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,492 | $25,956 | +$1,464 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,922 | −$324 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,875 | −$200 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,060 | +$1,512 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,700 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $7,085 | $13,121 | +$6,036 |
| Total | $43,946 | $52,634 | +$8,688 |
Side by side
| Metric | Olympia, WA | Providence, RI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.4 | 101.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.49% | 5.82% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.0% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.05 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $533,918 | $524,867 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $297 | $328 |
| Median rent | $2,041 | $2,163 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 11.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.99% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.31% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 28.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $92 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $67 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 21 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 47.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 36.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 33% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |