Tucson, AZ vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Tucson to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($343,580 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Tucson 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 Tucson, AZ, you'd need about $118,749 in Seattle, WA (+$18,749).
Livability — Tucson, AZ: 70 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,693 sqft in Tucson vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($186 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tucson, AZ | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,676 | $26,784 | +$9,108 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,405 | +$565 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $4,075 | +$115 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,548 | −$120 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,500 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $7,594 | $8,826 | +$1,232 |
| Total | $37,539 | $48,138 | +$10,600 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tucson, AZ | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.9 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.87% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.5% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $343,580 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.3× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $186 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,473 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $54 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 10.6 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |