#1 of 66 for you
Seattle, WA
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
Left over monthly
$3,406
Versus Chicago
+$1,026/mo
+$12,312 a year
Local pay for your job
$112,571
Local wages run 20% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$2,083
- Rent$1,761
- Other living costs$2,131
- Left over$3,406
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $112,571
- Federal income tax
- −$16,380
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$8,612
- State income tax (WA)
- None
- Take-home pay
- $87,580
- Effective tax rate
- 22.2%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,761
- Groceries
- $452
- Getting around
- $493
- Healthcare
- $508
- Utilities and internet
- $283
- Everything else
- $395
- Total spending
- $3,892
Left over each month
$9,381 gross, minus $2,083 in tax and $3,892 in living costs.
$3,406
What living here is like
- Weather
- 152 sunny days, 79°F in July, 37°F January nights
- Getting around
- One car for the household is workable
- Average commute
- 29 minutes each way
- Size
- 4.0M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $673,500 — roughly $4,517/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- No state income tax. Sales tax 9.4%, property tax 0.88%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 100
- Sun and mild weather
- 49
- Access to the outdoors
- 92
- City life and culture
- 82
- A short commute
- 45
Chicago vs Seattle, line by line
Same job, same household, both tax codes applied.
Open the comparison →Also worth a look
- Austin, TX$3,176/mo
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
- Houston, TX$3,159/mo
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
- Dallas, TX$3,044/mo
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.
- Denver, CO$2,654/mo
Mountains in an hour, 245 sunny days, and a flat 4.4% state tax.