How Much Does It Cost to Live In Seattle, WA?
Seattle, a city located in Washington, is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest.
It is often nicknamed The Emerald City, considered America’s green gem because it is so rich in nature and offers an abundance of evergreen trees throughout the entire city.
Seattle can be a very expensive city to live in, and there’s a lot to do there
Quite a few high-tech companies keep expanding their presence into the great Seattle area in recent years, which up until now created tens of thousands of highly paid jobs in the Seattle area.
United States : Cost of Living by City
- Albany, NY
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- Atlanta, GA
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- Seattle, WA
- Spokane, WA
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- Toledo, OH
- Tucson, AZ
- Tulsa, OK
- Vancouver, WA
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Washington, DC
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RESTAURANTS
Seattle is a huge city and with a huge city comes a huge range of restaurants and eateries.
There are high-end restaurants that cost a lot and some cheaper ones where you can have a delicious meal for around 25$.
If you’re really on a tight budget, you can eat in any of the chain fast food restaurants.
MARKETS
The major supermarket chains in Seattle are Safeway and Albertsons.
Dozens of farmer markets are scattered around the region, with many active only in the summer months.
The Pike Place Market Downtown is an attraction by itself, known for its seafood and produce stands.
TRANSPORTATION
Public transport is well organized in Seattle since it’s a huge and busy city.
During rush hours adult bus fares are 2.75$ within the city limits.
All other times of day and weekends adult bus fare is 2.50$.
The fare for children is always 1.50$. A
monthly pass for public transport is considerably higher than in most cities, costing around 100$.
UTILITIES (MONTHLY)
Depending on the size of your apartment, monthly utilities, including heating, cooling, electricity, and gas could cost between 100$ and 270$ a month.
However, for an apartment of about 85m2, your bills would amount to up to 155$.
Internet is expensive as well, amounting up to around 80$ a month.
SPORTS & LEISURE
There are places to hike and lots of nice short trails all over Seattle, so you won’t have to spend a bunch of money on gyms or fitness clubs.
Though the city is not necessarily bike-friendly, you can go further away from the center and enjoy the nature there.
If you prefer indoor spaces, a gym membership will probably cost you around 80$ a month which is very reasonable according to US standards.
CLOTHING & SHOES
Downtown in general is the retail core of downtown offering a huge number of hotels, boutique shops, and department stores (Nordstroms & Macys).
If you’re set on shopping for clothing and shoes, just go into any of those stores.
The prices are relatively low – quality jeans cost around 70$.
Quality sneakers are more expensive, standing at around 110$.
RENT PER MONTH
Rents are incredibly high for the type of area.
Additionally, the better suburbs around the city come with higher price tags than you might see in other suburbs.
Rent is skyrocketing beyond what most working people can afford.
For example, 2500$ for a single bedroom near downtown is very good.
Cost of Living Averages Table for Seattle, WA
*Note: All prices are indicated in USD.| Average Restaurant Prices | |
|---|---|
| Meal (Inexpensive Restaurant) | $25.00 |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 Liter) | $8.00 |
| Water (0.33 Liter) | $2.14 | Average Market Prices |
| Milk (1 Liter) | $1.18 |
| Loaf Bread (500g) | $4.32 |
| Eggs (12) | $4.62 | Average Transport Prices |
| One Way Ticket | $2.75 |
| Monthly Pass | $100.00 |
| Gasoline | $1.32 | Average Utilities Prices |
| Basic (Water, Electricity, Garbage, Heating, Cooling) | $270.29 |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local | $0.11 |
| Internet (Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | $78.78 | Average Leisure Prices |
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | $77.72 |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour) | $34.10 |
| Cinema, 1 Seat, International Release | $16.00 | Average Clothing Prices |
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Comparable) | $72.22 |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, etc...) | $61.85 |
| 1 Pair of Adidas Walking Shoes (Mid-Range) | $113.94 | Average Rent Prices |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Center | $2507.85 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Center | $1946.03 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Center | $4930.86 |
How Does the Average Person Spend Their Money in Seattle, WA?
No surprises here: the biggest chunk of the paycheck of Seattle’s citizens gets spent on rent.
Rent will be your problem when it comes to finances since they’re definitely the main financial burden for the people of Seattle.
As already mentioned, with more than 40% of one’s income being spent on rent, it can easily be said that it is skyrocketing beyond what most working people can afford.
The next biggest expense for the people of Seattle is food and groceries.
What is also high is the percentage of restaurant expenses: namely as much as 11% of one’s entire salary gets spent on restaurants.
Average Costs Breakdown
Seattle, WA: Average Salary, Minimum Wage & Mortgages
Quite a few high-tech companies have expanded their presence into the great Seattle area in recent years, which created tens of thousands of highly-paid jobs in the Seattle area.
With an average wage reaching far and beyond 4570$, citizens of Seattle have enough money to cover all their expenses, afford most of the things they want and need, and still live comfortably.
Of course, those that are renting have a harder time since they’re spending a lot more money.
The minimum wage doesn’t fall far behind the average monthly salary, so citizens of Seattle shouldn’t have problems making ends meet.
Seattle Safety Overview
READ THE FULL REPORT: Seattle Safety Review
Safety Index:
- OVERALL RISK: MEDIUM
- TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: LOW
- PICKPOCKETS RISK: LOW
- NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: LOW
- MUGGING RISK: MEDIUM
- TERRORISM RISK: MEDIUM
- SCAMS RISK: LOW
- WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: LOW
