Seattle, WA vs Manchester, NH
Moving from Seattle to Manchester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $526,340 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Manchester 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 $93,694 in Manchester, NH (−$6,306).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Manchester, NH: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 1,710 sqft in Manchester ($417 vs $292 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Manchester, NH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $25,632 | −$1,152 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,935 | −$470 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $2,955 | −$1,120 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,940 | +$1,392 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,000 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $6,681 | −$2,145 |
| Total | $48,138 | $44,143 | −$3,995 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Manchester, NH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 105.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 3.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $6.01 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $526,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $292 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $2,136 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.80% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 27.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 120 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 81 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |