Moving from Seattle to Chico
Seattle to Chico: $1,728 less leftover
$1,677/mo leftover in Chico vs $3,405 in Seattle after tax and rent ($1,728 less). −$20,736 a year — not a moving-company quote.
Seattle leftover
$3,405
a month after tax and rent
Chico leftover
$1,677
−$1,728 vs Seattle
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
Leftover is not a cost-of-living index. Leftover vs a COL index
Who already made this move
The IRS did not publish a large enough Seattle → Chico pair for 2022-2023. That usually means fewer than a few dozen tax returns, not that nobody moved.
Source: IRS SOI county-to-county migration. Not a moving company; not a recommendation.
| Per month | Seattle | Chico |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home | $7,294 | $5,017 |
| Rent | $1,758 | $1,174 |
| All other costs | $2,131 | $2,166 |
| Left over | $3,405 | $1,677 |
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 Seattle and Chico 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.
Full line-by-line comparison →
What the move itself costs
About 649 road miles, 1 bedroom. Typical ranges, not quotes.
- Full-service mover
- $2,250–$4,250
- Container or pod
- $1,550–$2,950
- Rent a truck
- $750–$1,450
Other moves from Seattle
Dig into Chico
Paycheck
Take-home pay after tax and rent, and what's left at the end of the month.
Who moved
Which metros people actually left and arrived from, according to IRS tax returns.
Rent vs buy
Asking rent, the median home, property tax, and months to a down payment.
Monthly costs
Groceries, getting around, utilities, healthcare and childcare at your household size.
Daily life
Homicide and firearm death rates, heat, cars and commute.
Kids
Public-school enrollment, pupil–teacher ratio, bedrooms and childcare.
Getting there
Typical cost to get here, then leftover after tax and rent — not a moving-company directory.
Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Chico than Seattle?
A one-bedroom is about $1,758 in Seattle versus $1,174 in Chico. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $1,728 a month lower in Chico. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Chico have state income tax?
Chico is in California, which taxes wage income.
Did people actually move from Seattle to Chico?
When IRS county-to-county data covers this pair, the page lists how many households made the Seattle → Chico move and their average AGI. Leftover after tax and rent is shown for the same household on both sides.