# Cost of living in Seattle, United States

> No state income tax plus top-quartile tech salaries; the cost is grey winters and steep housing.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/seattle
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 49% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** USD
- **Region:** North America
- **Cost index:** 65 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $4,162 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $5,905 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $12,867 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $2,020 | derived | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $101 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $68 | estimated | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $58 | estimated | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $500 | estimated | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $132 | estimated | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $100 | estimated | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $66 | estimated | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $51 | estimated | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $99 | estimated | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $90 | estimated | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Health insurance (compulsory) | $500 | estimated | Cover is not optional in United States; children priced at 50% |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $37 | estimated | 0.15 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $60 | estimated | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $16 | estimated | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $105 | estimated | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $159 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$4,162** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in United States:

- Income tax: $13,449
- Employee social contributions: $7,650
- Take-home: $78,901/year ($6,575/month)
- Effective rate: 21.1%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $2,413/month

Average local net salary: $5,800/month, which covers 1.4x the one-adult budget.

- Washington (none) income tax applied at 0.00%.
- Federal single-filer brackets with the standard deduction.
- State and city income taxes are applied as a flat approximation of the local effective rate.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 58 |
| Healthcare | 86 |
| Air quality | 78 |
| Public transport | 68 |
| Walkability | 74 |
| English proficiency | 100 |
| Family friendliness | 70 |
| Nightlife | 76 |
| Median broadband | 260 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 12°C; summer highs 26°C; winter lows 2°C; 2170 sunshine hours and 950 mm of rain a year. Climate type: oceanic.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 4.8, 5.1, 7.1, 9.4, 13.4, 16, 19.7, 19.6, 16.4, 11.7, 8.2, 7.1.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 132, 101, 105, 82, 42, 34, 8, 40, 50, 97, 159, 219.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: no
- No remote-work visa. Employment-based routes (H-1B, L-1, O-1) or a green card are the usual paths.
- Coast: 25 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: America/Los_Angeles
- Metro population: 4.0 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 49% derived, 51% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) (https://www.zillow.com/research/data/), as of 2026-07-31

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/seattle
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/seattle
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities