Olympia, WA vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Olympia to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($533,918 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Olympia vs Seattle 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 $105,990 in Seattle, WA (+$5,990).
Livability — Olympia, WA: 52 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,686 sqft in Olympia vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($297 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Olympia, WA | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,492 | $26,784 | +$2,292 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $5,405 | +$160 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $4,075 | +$0 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,548 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $7,085 | $8,826 | +$1,741 |
| Total | $43,946 | $48,138 | +$4,193 |
Side by side
| Metric | Olympia, WA | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.4 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.49% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.0% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.05 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $533,918 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $297 | $417 |
| Median rent | $2,041 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 33% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |