Washington, DC vs Salem, OR
Moving from Washington to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Washington vs Salem 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 Washington, DC, you'd need about $93,533 in Salem, OR (−$6,467).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($389 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $19,536 | −$9,456 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $5,239 | −$79 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $3,680 | −$175 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $1,704 | −$1,044 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $900 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $13,135 | −$4,575 |
| Total | $60,023 | $44,194 | −$15,829 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $268 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $80 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $271 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.8 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.7 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |