Olympia, WA vs San Diego, CA
Moving from Olympia to San Diego? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($533,918 → $946,365 median home) and taxes.
Olympia vs San Diego 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 $104,119 in San Diego, CA (+$4,119).
Livability — Olympia, WA: 52 · San Diego, CA: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,686 sqft in Olympia vs 793 sqft in San Diego ($297 vs $631 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Olympia, WA | San Diego, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,492 | $35,412 | +$10,920 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $5,112 | −$133 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $5,125 | +$1,050 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,804 | +$2,256 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $7,085 | $21,601 | +$14,516 |
| Total | $43,946 | $72,554 | +$28,609 |
Side by side
| Metric | Olympia, WA | San Diego, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.4 | 110.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.49% | 6.34% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.0% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 26 | 71 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.05 | $6.30 |
| Median home price | $533,918 | $946,365 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 9.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $297 | $631 |
| Median rent | $2,041 | $2,951 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |