Seattle, WA vs Winston, NC
Moving from Seattle to Winston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $283,871 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Winston 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 $81,257 in Winston, NC (−$18,743).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Winston, NC: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,524 sqft in Winston ($417 vs $142 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Winston, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $18,552 | −$8,232 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,840 | −$566 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,130 | −$945 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,752 | +$204 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $8,183 | −$643 |
| Total | $48,138 | $38,457 | −$9,682 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Winston, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 91.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.21 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $283,871 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $142 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,546 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.77% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |