Seattle, WA vs Syracuse, NY
Moving from Seattle to Syracuse? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $264,903 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Syracuse 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 $84,907 in Syracuse, NY (−$15,093).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Syracuse, NY: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,019 sqft in Syracuse ($417 vs $166 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Syracuse, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $19,596 | −$7,188 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,868 | −$537 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,895 | −$180 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,180 | +$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,600 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $18,225 | +$9,399 |
| Total | $48,138 | $51,364 | +$3,226 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Syracuse, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 95.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.79% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | -0.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 36 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.45 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $264,903 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 6.6% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $166 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,633 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 2.64% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |