Spokane, WA vs San Francisco, CA
Moving from Spokane to San Francisco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($423,842 → $1,149,215 median home) and taxes.
Spokane vs San Francisco 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 Spokane, WA, you'd need about $116,474 in San Francisco, CA (+$16,474).
Livability — Spokane, WA: 59 · San Francisco, CA: 35 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,123 sqft in Spokane vs 653 sqft in San Francisco ($236 vs $766 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Spokane, WA | San Francisco, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,588 | $39,096 | +$20,508 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $5,761 | +$515 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $5,125 | +$1,050 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,804 | +$2,256 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,500 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $6,160 | $24,108 | +$17,948 |
| Total | $37,117 | $79,394 | +$42,277 |
Side by side
| Metric | Spokane, WA | San Francisco, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.9 | 117.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.75% | 5.22% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | 1.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.74 | $6.69 |
| Median home price | $423,842 | $1,149,215 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 8.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $236 | $766 |
| Median rent | $1,549 | $3,258 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 33 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |