Seattle, WA vs Mobile, AL
Moving from Seattle to Mobile? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $197,857 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Mobile 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 $78,717 in Mobile, AL (−$21,283).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Mobile, AL: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 5,181 sqft in Mobile ($417 vs $97 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Mobile, AL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $15,876 | −$10,908 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,729 | −$676 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,465 | −$610 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,884 | +$336 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,400 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $9,039 | +$213 |
| Total | $48,138 | $37,393 | −$10,745 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Mobile, AL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 88.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.91% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.05 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $197,857 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $97 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,323 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 9.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $7,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.70% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $117 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 33 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 56.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 1.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |