Seattle, WA vs Lexington, KY
Moving from Seattle to Lexington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $327,671 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Lexington 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 $82,055 in Lexington, KY (−$17,945).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Lexington, KY: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,899 sqft in Lexington ($417 vs $173 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Lexington, KY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $18,336 | −$8,448 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,721 | −$684 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,870 | −$205 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,620 | +$72 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,200 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $8,073 | −$753 |
| Total | $48,138 | $38,820 | −$9,318 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Lexington, KY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 92.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.26 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $327,671 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $173 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,528 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.83% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.44% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $250 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 15.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $70 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $81 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 48.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 13.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |