Seattle, WA vs Columbus, GA
Moving from Seattle to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $209,527 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Columbus 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 $78,808 in Columbus, GA (−$21,192).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Columbus, GA: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 4,892 sqft in Columbus ($417 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Columbus, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $15,336 | −$11,448 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,816 | −$590 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,515 | −$560 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,656 | +$108 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,100 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $9,327 | +$501 |
| Total | $48,138 | $36,750 | −$11,389 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Columbus, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 6.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $209,527 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $102 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,278 |
| 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% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |