Seattle, WA vs Buffalo, NY
Moving from Seattle to Buffalo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $288,316 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Buffalo 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 $84,201 in Buffalo, NY (−$15,799).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Buffalo, NY: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,775 sqft in Buffalo ($417 vs $180 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Buffalo, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $17,328 | −$9,456 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,868 | −$537 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,895 | −$180 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,180 | +$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,600 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $18,192 | +$9,366 |
| Total | $48,138 | $49,063 | +$925 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Buffalo, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 94.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.10% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 2.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $288,316 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 4.8% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $180 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,444 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 2.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |