Seattle, WA vs Hickory, NC
Moving from Seattle to Hickory? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $271,739 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Hickory 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 $79,281 in Hickory, NC (−$20,719).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Hickory, NC: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,679 sqft in Hickory ($417 vs $136 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Hickory, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $17,952 | −$8,832 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,840 | −$566 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,130 | −$945 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,752 | +$204 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $7,879 | −$947 |
| Total | $48,138 | $37,553 | −$10,586 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Hickory, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.52% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 46 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $271,739 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.3% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $136 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,496 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.69% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |