Milwaukee vs Seattle leftover
You'd keep $784 more a month in Seattle
$3,378/mo leftover in Seattle vs $2,594 in Milwaukee after tax and rent ($784 more). +$9,408 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Milwaukee leftover
$2,594
a month after tax and rent
Seattle leftover
$3,378
+$784 vs Milwaukee
Compare Milwaukee to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Milwaukee.
Monthly gap
Milwaukee → Seattle
$784
more / month in Seattle
$3,378 in Seattle · $2,594 in Milwaukee · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 163 households moved Milwaukee → Seattle (avg AGI $72,773). 84 went the other way. The whole move →
+$784 / mo
| Per month | Milwaukee | Seattle | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $9,337 | +$1,712 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,875 | $2,070 | +$195 |
| Take-home pay | $5,750 | $7,267 | +$1,517 |
| Rent | $1,261 | $1,758 | +$497 |
| Getting around | $503 | $493 | −$10 |
| Groceries | $384 | $452 | +$68 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $508 | +$76 |
| Utilities | $240 | $283 | +$43 |
| Everything else | $336 | $395 | +$59 |
| Left over | $2,594 | $3,378 | +$784 |
To break even in Seattle, you'd need to earn
$98,500
Household gross, versus $91,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Milwaukee does now.
The tax difference alone
+$3,752
A year, in state and local income tax. Washington has no wage income tax.
More about Seattle
Milwaukee, WI in full
Lake Michigan summers, cheap housing, and a 1.5% property tax.
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 → Milwaukee →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Seattle than Milwaukee?
A one-bedroom is about $1,261 in Milwaukee versus $1,758 in Seattle. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $784 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 Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee 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.