Seattle, WA vs Boston, MA
Moving from Seattle to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Boston 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 $97,926 in Boston, MA (−$2,074).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($417 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $38,532 | +$11,748 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $5,040 | −$366 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,210 | −$865 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,180 | +$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,800 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $17,694 | +$8,868 |
| Total | $48,138 | $69,455 | +$21,317 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $436 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |