Seattle, WA vs Knoxville, TN
Moving from Seattle to Knoxville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $367,158 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Knoxville 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 $81,818 in Knoxville, TN (−$18,182).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Knoxville, TN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,723 sqft in Knoxville ($417 vs $184 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Knoxville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $21,144 | −$5,640 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,715 | −$691 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,130 | −$945 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,608 | +$60 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,200 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $4,576 | −$4,250 |
| Total | $48,138 | $37,372 | −$10,766 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Knoxville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 92.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 2.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.25 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $367,158 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $184 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,762 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |