Cost of Living Comparison Between Tacoma, WA and Seattle, WA 

Indices DifferenceInfo
Cost of Living in Seattle, WA is 17.5% higher than in Tacoma, WA (excluding rent)
Cost of Living Including Rent in Seattle, WA is 19.9% higher than in Tacoma, WA
Rent Prices in Seattle, WA are 24.5% higher than in Tacoma, WA
Restaurant Prices in Seattle, WA are 25.7% higher than in Tacoma, WA
Groceries Prices in Seattle, WA are 14.5% higher than in Tacoma, WA
Local Purchasing Power in Seattle, WA is 18.6% higher than in Tacoma, WA
Currency: Sticky Currency      Switch to metric measurement units
Restaurants
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit Difference
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 16.50 $ 25.00 $      +51.5 %
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 72.50 $ 100.00 $      +37.9 %
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 12.50 $ 14.00 $      +12.0 %
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 6.00 $ 7.75 $      +29.2 %
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 8.00 $ 8.00 $      0.0 %
Cappuccino (regular) 6.06 $ 5.58 $      -7.9 %
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 2.92 $ 2.99 $      +2.5 %
Water (12 oz small bottle) 2.25 $ 2.40 $      +6.6 %
Markets
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 4.30 $ 4.96 $      +15.4 %
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 3.82 $ 4.39 $      +15.0 %
Rice (white), (1 lb) 2.96 $ 2.40 $      -19.0 %
Eggs (regular) (12) 4.84 $ 6.07 $      +25.4 %
Local Cheese (1 lb) 5.23 $ 9.59 $      +83.4 %
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 7.34 $ 7.51 $      +2.3 %
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 8.70 $ 9.31 $      +7.1 %
Apples (1 lb) 2.35 $ 2.67 $      +13.7 %
Banana (1 lb) 0.89 $ 1.16 $      +30.5 %
Oranges (1 lb) 2.37 $ 2.44 $      +3.1 %
Tomato (1 lb) 2.34 $ 2.94 $      +25.5 %
Potato (1 lb) 1.41 $ 1.44 $      +1.9 %
Onion (1 lb) 1.27 $ 1.63 $      +27.9 %
Lettuce (1 head) 1.97 $ 2.81 $      +42.5 %
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 2.80 $ 2.61 $      -6.9 %
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 16.00 $ 20.00 $      +25.0 %
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 1.73 $ 2.92 $      +68.6 %
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 5.13 $ 4.27 $      -16.7 %
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 11.00 $ 11.50 $      +4.5 %
Transportation
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 2.00 $ 2.75 $      +37.5 %
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 62.00 $ 99.00 $      +59.7 %
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 2.60 $ 2.65 $      +1.9 %
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 2.70 $ 2.70 $      0.0 %
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 30.00 $ 30.00 $      0.0 %
Gasoline (1 gallon) 4.46 $ 4.51 $      +1.1 %
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 36,656.56 $ 33,000.00 $      -10.0 %
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 27,297.23 $ 26,031.68 $      -4.6 %
Utilities (Monthly)
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 229.80 $ 250.22 $      +8.9 %
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 71.50 $ 60.15 $      -15.9 %
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 88.00 $ 76.11 $      -13.5 %
Sports And Leisure
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 51.67 $ 78.35 $      +51.6 %
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 15.00 $ 40.44 $      +169.6 %
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 15.50 $ 16.00 $      +3.2 %
Childcare
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 2,086.81 $ 2,200.00 $      +5.4 %
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 31,687.50 $ 29,375.00 $      -7.3 %
Clothing And Shoes
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 60.00 $ 67.15 $      +11.9 %
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 44.50 $ 52.44 $      +17.8 %
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 89.83 $ 107.26 $      +19.4 %
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 153.50 $ 138.76 $      -9.6 %
Rent Per Month
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 1,935.00 $ 2,305.50 $      +19.1 %
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 1,760.04 $ 1,858.62 $      +5.6 %
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 3,388.89 $ 4,655.17 $      +37.4 %
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 2,775.00 $ 3,459.85 $      +24.7 %
Buy Apartment Price
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 376.51 $ 691.06 $      +83.5 %
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 361.51 $ 501.70 $      +38.8 %
Salaries And Financing
Tacoma, WA Edit Seattle, WA Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 4,763.24 $ 6,774.85 $      +42.2 %
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 6.51 6.44      -1.1 %
Last update: April 2025May 2025
Contributors in the past 12 months:21225