Seattle, WA vs Roanoke, VA
Moving from Seattle to Roanoke? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $301,139 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Roanoke 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 $80,905 in Roanoke, VA (−$19,095).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Roanoke, VA: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,320 sqft in Roanoke ($417 vs $151 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Roanoke, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $16,836 | −$9,948 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,853 | −$552 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,080 | −$995 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,872 | +$324 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $9,549 | +$723 |
| Total | $48,138 | $37,690 | −$10,448 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Roanoke, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $301,139 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 3.8% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $151 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,403 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 8.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |