Sioux Falls, SD vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Sioux Falls to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($342,936 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Sioux Falls vs Seattle 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 Sioux Falls, SD, you'd need about $125,130 in Seattle, WA (+$25,130).
Livability — Sioux Falls, SD: 69 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,479 sqft in Sioux Falls vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($202 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Sioux Falls, SD | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,708 | $26,784 | +$11,076 |
| Groceries | $4,870 | $5,405 | +$536 |
| Transportation | $3,200 | $4,075 | +$875 |
| Utilities | $1,572 | $1,548 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,500 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $5,263 | $8,826 | +$3,563 |
| Total | $33,013 | $48,138 | +$15,126 |
Side by side
| Metric | Sioux Falls, SD | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 90.1 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.15% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.9% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.13 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $342,936 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.5% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,309 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.4% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.40% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.18% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 19 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $64 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $68 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 26.0 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.0 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |