Seattle, WA vs Springfield, MO
Moving from Seattle to Springfield? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $272,938 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Springfield 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 $79,047 in Springfield, MO (−$20,953).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Springfield, MO: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,205 sqft in Springfield ($417 vs $156 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Springfield, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $15,252 | −$11,532 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,830 | −$575 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,390 | −$685 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,512 | −$36 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,400 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $9,116 | +$290 |
| Total | $48,138 | $36,500 | −$11,638 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Springfield, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 3.91% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $272,938 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.4% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $156 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,271 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |