Seattle, WA vs Appleton, WI
Moving from Seattle to Appleton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $350,370 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Appleton 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $83,150 in Appleton, WI (−$16,850).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Appleton, WI: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,426 sqft in Appleton ($417 vs $206 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Appleton, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $14,604 | −$12,180 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,691 | −$714 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,085 | −$990 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,076 | +$528 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $13,083 | +$4,257 |
| Total | $48,138 | $38,839 | −$9,299 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Appleton, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 93.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 2.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $350,370 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 6.1% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $206 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,217 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.56% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |