Seattle, WA vs Scranton, PA
Moving from Seattle to Scranton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $227,793 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Scranton 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 $82,844 in Scranton, PA (−$17,156).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Scranton, PA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,840 sqft in Scranton ($417 vs $130 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Scranton, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $16,296 | −$10,488 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,915 | −$490 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,440 | −$635 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,316 | +$768 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,200 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $7,898 | −$928 |
| Total | $48,138 | $36,065 | −$12,073 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Scranton, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 93.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.40% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.31 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $227,793 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $130 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,358 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.60% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 44.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 45% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |