Seattle, WA vs McAllen, TX
Moving from Seattle to McAllen? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $193,978 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs McAllen 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 $76,354 in McAllen, TX (−$23,646).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · McAllen, TX: 78 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 5,411 sqft in McAllen ($417 vs $92 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | McAllen, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $13,536 | −$13,248 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,647 | −$759 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,675 | −$400 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,836 | +$288 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,600 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $4,917 | −$3,909 |
| Total | $48,138 | $32,211 | −$15,928 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | McAllen, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 86.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 7.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $4.90 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $193,978 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $92 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,128 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.82% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |