Rochester vs Seattle leftover
You'd keep $876 more a month in Seattle
$3,405/mo leftover in Seattle vs $2,529 in Rochester after tax and rent ($876 more). +$10,512 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Rochester leftover
$2,529
a month after tax and rent
Seattle leftover
$3,405
+$876 vs Rochester
Compare Rochester to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Rochester.
Monthly gap
Rochester → Seattle
$876
more / month in Seattle
$3,405 in Seattle · $2,529 in Rochester · 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, 128 households moved Rochester → Seattle (avg AGI $84,234). 36 went the other way. The whole move →
+$876 / mo
| Per month | Rochester | Seattle | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $9,375 | +$1,875 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,888 | $2,081 | +$193 |
| Take-home pay | $5,612 | $7,294 | +$1,682 |
| Rent | $1,208 | $1,758 | +$550 |
| Getting around | $526 | $493 | −$33 |
| Groceries | $372 | $452 | +$80 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $508 | +$89 |
| Utilities | $233 | $283 | +$50 |
| Everything else | $326 | $395 | +$69 |
| Left over | $2,529 | $3,405 | +$876 |
To break even in Seattle, you'd need to earn
$97,500
Household gross, versus $90,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Rochester does now.
The tax difference alone
+$4,352
A year, in state and local income tax. Washington has no wage income tax.
More about Seattle
Rochester, NY in full
The highest effective property tax rate in the country, on very cheap houses.
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 → Rochester →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Seattle than Rochester?
A one-bedroom is about $1,208 in Rochester versus $1,758 in Seattle. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $876 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 Rochester 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 Rochester 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.