Rockford, IL vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Rockford to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($221,368 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Rockford 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 Rockford, IL, you'd need about $125,026 in Seattle, WA (+$25,026).
Livability — Rockford, IL: 67 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,840 sqft in Rockford vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($130 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Rockford, IL | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,828 | $26,784 | +$10,956 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $5,405 | +$751 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $4,075 | +$525 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,548 | −$660 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,500 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $11,929 | $8,826 | −$3,103 |
| Total | $40,070 | $48,138 | +$8,069 |
Side by side
| Metric | Rockford, IL | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 90.2 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.53% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.9% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.13 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $221,368 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 9.1% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $130 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,319 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 2.54% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |