Seattle, WA vs Atlanta, GA
Moving from Seattle to Atlanta? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $382,938 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Atlanta 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 $89,133 in Atlanta, GA (−$10,867).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Atlanta, GA: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,677 sqft in Atlanta ($417 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Atlanta, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $22,080 | −$4,704 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,926 | −$479 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,515 | −$560 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,656 | +$108 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,100 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $10,533 | +$1,707 |
| Total | $48,138 | $44,810 | −$3,328 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Atlanta, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 100.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.04% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 6.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $382,938 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | -2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $187 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,840 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.85% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 32 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $74 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $123 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 50.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 2.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |