Cost of Living score
Affordability, essential costs, and day-to-day financial pressure for residents.
Cost of Living in Seattle60/100
Cost of Living
Cost of Living in Seattle
Seattle is expensive on housing and central services, partially offset by amenity, services, and tech-sector wage depth. Cost of Living in Seattle scores 60/100, placing it in the developing group of the indexed set.
- Last updated
- 2026-05-16
- Data year
- 2025
- Module score
- 60/100
Affordability score
60/100
Lower score driven by housing pressure.
Housing pressure
High
Long-run demand and supply imbalances dominate the cost profile.
Amenity offset
Strong
Outdoor and service amenity reduce some practical costs.
Seattle cost of living data table
This HTML table mirrors the visible score cards so important comparison data is never trapped in a browser-only chart.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Affordability score | 60/100 | Amenity and services partially offset costs. |
| Housing pressure | High | Central districts remain especially competitive. |
| Amenity offset | Strong | Outdoor lifestyle supports car-light routines for many. |
Cost of Living city comparison
A crawlable comparison across a selection of same-country and top-scoring cities. The complete set is reachable via the rankings, the cities index, and each city profile.
| City | Score | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle (this page) | 60/100 | Seattle is expensive on housing and central services, partially offset by amenity, services, and tech-sector wage depth. |
| Detroit | 78/100 | Detroit's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| St. Louis | 78/100 | St. Louis's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Kansas City | 78/100 | Kansas City's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Cleveland | 78/100 | Cleveland's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Memphis | 78/100 | Memphis's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Indianapolis | 77/100 | Indianapolis's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| San Antonio | 77/100 | San Antonio's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Cincinnati | 77/100 | Cincinnati's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Pittsburgh | 76/100 | Pittsburgh's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Columbus | 76/100 | Columbus's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Milwaukee | 76/100 | Milwaukee's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Youngstown | 74/100 | Youngstown's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Shreveport | 74/100 | Shreveport's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Evansville | 74/100 | Evansville's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Fort Smith | 74/100 | Fort Smith's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Amarillo | 74/100 | Amarillo's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Wichita | 74/100 | Wichita's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Madison | 74/100 | Madison's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Peoria | 72/100 | Peoria's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Montgomery | 72/100 | Montgomery's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Columbus | 72/100 | Columbus's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Rockford | 72/100 | Rockford's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Lubbock | 72/100 | Lubbock's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| McAllen | 72/100 | McAllen's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Dallas | 72/100 | Dallas's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Phoenix | 72/100 | Phoenix's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Raleigh | 72/100 | Raleigh's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Orlando | 72/100 | Orlando's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Baltimore | 72/100 | Baltimore's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Fort Wayne | 70/100 | Fort Wayne's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
Interpretation
The cost-of-living model balances housing pressure with services and amenity. Seattle's costs are dominated by housing. Across the indexed cities the cost of living average is 62/100, so Seattle is close to the median for this dimension. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 3 institutional references.
Read this module with the main open the seattle city profile and the read the scoring methodology page so single-topic pages do not hide tradeoffs across dimensions.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Sources
3 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
- UN-Habitat: World Cities Report 2024
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
- IPCC: AR6 WGII Chapter 6: Cities, settlements and key infrastructure
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.
- Numbeo: Cost of Living Index
Used for directional affordability framing alongside official housing and price datasets.
Continue exploring
These links connect module pages back to city, ranking, and sibling topic paths with crawlable href values.
Seattle city profile
Return to the complete Seattle profile with all module scores and source context.
Air Quality in Seattle
Health-oriented air-quality conditions with context from WHO, EEA, and EPA benchmarks.
Energy in Seattle
Clean-energy readiness, grid resilience, and solar or efficiency opportunity signals.
Safety in Seattle
Personal safety, institutional trust, and resilience signals informed by international safety and crime data.
Internet Speed in Seattle
Broadband and mobile connectivity quality, latency, and digital-readiness signals for residents and remote workers.
Climate Risk in Seattle
Climate exposure, hazard frequency, and adaptation context for floods, heat, storms, and wildfires.
Overall Intelligence
A balanced ranking of cities across affordability, air quality, clean-energy readiness, and resilience.
Quality of Life
Cities that combine strong services, mobility, safety, clean air, and resilience into a healthy day-to-day profile.