Spartanburg, SC vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Spartanburg to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($279,792 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Spartanburg 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 Spartanburg, SC, you'd need about $124,580 in Seattle, WA (+$24,580).
Livability — Spartanburg, SC: 71 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,574 sqft in Spartanburg vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($140 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Spartanburg, SC | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,676 | $26,784 | +$9,108 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $5,405 | +$608 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $4,075 | +$610 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,548 | −$300 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,500 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $10,153 | $8,826 | −$1,327 |
| Total | $39,939 | $48,138 | +$8,199 |
Side by side
| Metric | Spartanburg, SC | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 90.5 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.72% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.4% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.15 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $279,792 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $140 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,473 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $97 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.0 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.5 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |