Yakima, WA vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Yakima to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($355,256 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Yakima vs Detroit 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 Yakima, WA, you'd need about $100,291 in Detroit, MI (+$291).
Livability — Yakima, WA: 63 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,533 sqft in Yakima vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($197 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Yakima, WA | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $18,000 | +$1,548 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,896 | −$349 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $4,575 | +$500 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,316 | +$768 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $5,427 | $9,547 | +$4,120 |
| Total | $34,248 | $40,634 | +$6,387 |
Side by side
| Metric | Yakima, WA | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.9 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.24% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.2% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.57 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $355,256 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $197 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 6.5 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 20.0 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |