Washington, DC vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Washington to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Washington 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 Washington, DC, you'd need about $102,910 in Seattle, WA (+$2,910).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($389 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $26,784 | −$2,208 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $5,405 | +$88 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $4,075 | +$220 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $1,548 | −$1,200 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,500 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $8,826 | −$8,884 |
| Total | $60,023 | $48,138 | −$11,884 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $417 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $80 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $271 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.8 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.7 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |