Seattle, WA vs Duluth, MN
Moving from Seattle to Duluth? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $264,350 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Duluth 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 $77,335 in Duluth, MN (−$22,665).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Duluth, MN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,404 sqft in Duluth ($417 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Duluth, MN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $16,572 | −$10,212 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,846 | −$559 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,375 | −$700 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,776 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,200 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $14,852 | +$6,026 |
| Total | $48,138 | $43,621 | −$4,517 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Duluth, MN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 87.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $4.96 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $264,350 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 6.6% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $147 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,381 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.10% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 9.85% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.12% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.58% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 4 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |