Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Spokane's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Spokane?
Your $100,000 in Spokane has the same purchasing power as $101,492 in the average US city. You'd need $1,492 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Spokane's cost index of 99, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Spokane usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: wage income stays untaxed at the state level, most daily life happens on foot, plus 2 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Wage income in Spokane isn't taxed at the state level. Washington is one of the few US states with no income tax, which is one of the reasons people relocating from high-tax states tend to land here in the first place. (Washington taxes some long-term capital gains over a high threshold, but ordinary wages and salaries are not taxed.)
Spokane's Walk Score is 94/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change. Transit Score comes in at 71/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Spokane's air quality index averages about 44 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Spokane is about 21 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Spokane's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 25°F, Spokane sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
Cold but workable. Winter in Spokane averages about 25°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Spokane runs about 81°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Spokane's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Spokane sits at about 1,706 feet (520 m) — meaningfully higher than coastal cities, but not high enough to noticeably affect breathing or cooking.
The citywide numbers are concerning — about 6,499 per 100,000 residents, well above the US average of around 3,500. As with all crime stats, the city aggregate hides huge variation between neighborhoods, but the overall picture is worse than most US cities.
Roughly average. Spokane's cost-of-living index is 99, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Genuinely so. Spokane's Walk Score of 94 out of 100 puts it in "Walker's Paradise" territory — daily errands don't require a car at all. Transit Score is 71 out of 100. Many residents skip car ownership entirely.
Roughly $68,971 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Spokane runs about $1,060/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.