Cost of Living in Seattle

The USA is such a large and diverse country, it is impossible to establish a cost of living for the country as a whole. It does help, however, to provide information about the cost of living in your area. Naturally, prices within the cities (particularly NYC, San Francisco, etc) are exceptionally high.

My parents moved from California to Washington State in the early 1980's to escape the high price of homes. In the late 2000's, my husband & I decided to leave Seattle partly due to the high cost of living. The city of Seattle has been immune to much of the housing crisis and prices have remained high during the economic downturn. Salaries are also high, but this can be a difficult balance.

Accommodation (monthly rent)
Unfurnished studio = $450 - 800
Unfurnished one bedroom apartment = $900 - 1,200
Unfurnished two bedroom apartment = $1,000-1,800
Room in shared apartment = $350 - 900

Food + Supply
One litre milk = $1
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) = $2
Eggs (12) = $2.80
Local Cheese (1kg) = $7.00
Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1kg) $9.03
Coffee Beans (1lb.) = $12

Utilities/bills
Telephone line (monthly rental) = $10+ long-distance phone calls
Internet (monthly rental) =$30
Mobile/cell phone bill = $30-90
Basic (Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment 199.79 $

Transport
Gas (gallon) = $3.85
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) = $2.50 (each 1km $1.55)
Bus = $2.50

We covered some tips on living with high cost of living in our article: How to Live in a City with a high Cost of Living.