Seattle, WA vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Seattle to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Detroit 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 $87,098 in Detroit, MI (−$12,902).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($417 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $18,000 | −$8,784 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,896 | −$509 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $4,575 | +$500 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,316 | +$768 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $9,547 | +$721 |
| Total | $48,138 | $40,634 | −$7,504 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $163 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |