Ames vs Seattle leftover
You'd keep $985 more a month in Seattle
$3,386/mo leftover in Seattle vs $2,401 in Ames after tax and rent ($985 more). +$11,820 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Ames leftover
$2,401
a month after tax and rent
Seattle leftover
$3,386
+$985 vs Ames
Compare Ames to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Ames.
Monthly gap
Ames → Seattle
$985
more / month in Seattle
$3,386 in Seattle · $2,401 in Ames · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
+$985 / mo
| Per month | Ames | Seattle | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,208 | $9,348 | +$3,139 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,332 | $2,073 | +$741 |
| Take-home pay | $4,877 | $7,275 | +$2,398 |
| Rent | $760 | $1,758 | +$998 |
| Getting around | $457 | $493 | +$36 |
| Groceries | $347 | $452 | +$105 |
| Healthcare | $391 | $508 | +$117 |
| Utilities | $217 | $283 | +$66 |
| Everything else | $304 | $395 | +$91 |
| Left over | $2,401 | $3,386 | +$985 |
To break even in Seattle, you'd need to earn
$95,500
Household gross, versus $74,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Ames does now.
The tax difference alone
+$2,276
A year, in state and local income tax. Washington has no wage income tax.
More about Seattle
Ames, IA in full
A flat 3.8% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $905 and 207 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
Seattle, WA in full
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Seattle on Seattle wages.
Seattle → Ames →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Seattle than Ames?
A one-bedroom is about $760 in Ames versus $1,758 in Seattle. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $985 a month higher in Seattle. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Seattle have state income tax?
Seattle is in Washington, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Ames to Seattle?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Washington tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Ames and Seattle moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.