Seattle, WA vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Seattle to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Charleston 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 $79,000 in Charleston, WV (−$21,000).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($417 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $15,180 | −$11,604 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,767 | −$638 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,410 | −$665 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,740 | +$192 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $8,230 | −$596 |
| Total | $48,138 | $34,627 | −$13,512 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $88 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |