Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Washington's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Washington?
Your $100,000 in Washington has the same purchasing power as $81,327 in the average US city. You'd need $18,673 more 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.
Within 10 points of Washington's cost index of 123, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Washington? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: solidly above-average earnings and genuinely walkable, not just walkable-on-paper, plus 3 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Median household income in Washington is $101,722, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
Washington's Walk Score is 96/100 — 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 99/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Washington's Bike Score is 80/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
Washington's air quality index averages about 38 — 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.
63% of adults 25 and over in Washington hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Washington'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.
Washington gets a handful of meaningful snow days each year. Winters average about 32°F — cold enough for several inches at a time, warm enough for everything to melt between storms.
Cold but workable. Winter in Washington averages about 32°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 Washington runs about 88°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Washington falls in roughly USDA Zone 8. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Washington sits at about 79 feet (24 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Hurricane season covers June through November, with peak activity in late summer and early fall. For Washington, the practical advice is: have a few days of water and supplies on hand from August onward, know your evacuation route, and don't wait for the news to tell you a storm is "probably nothing" — track the cone yourself.
Higher than average. Washington reports about 4,253 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Yes, noticeably. Washington's cost-of-living index runs 123, about 23% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Genuinely so. Washington's Walk Score of 96 out of 100 puts it in "Walker's Paradise" territory — daily errands don't require a car at all. Transit Score is 99 out of 100. Many residents skip car ownership entirely.
Roughly $86,072 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 Washington runs about $1,817/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.