Seattle, WA vs Worcester, MA
Moving from Seattle to Worcester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $482,611 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Worcester 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 $91,352 in Worcester, MA (−$8,648).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Worcester, MA: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 1,761 sqft in Worcester ($417 vs $284 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Worcester, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $26,184 | −$600 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,938 | −$468 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,210 | −$865 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,180 | +$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,800 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $16,011 | +$7,185 |
| Total | $48,138 | $55,322 | +$7,184 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Worcester, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 103.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.78% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.86 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $482,611 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $284 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $2,182 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.39% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |