This Is The Most Expensive City To Live In Washington

By Grant Suneson, 24/7 Wall St. - Seattle

2021-08-11

One of the main drawbacks to living in major cities is the price. Goods and services are all fairly expensive compared to less densely populated areas. Nearly every state is home to one major metropolitan area in which the cost of living is well above the average for that state.

To determine the most expensive city in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on cost of living from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Just because a city is the most expensive in its state does not necessarily mean its cost of living is that high when compared to the national average cost of living. In 29 states, the most expensive city has a lower cost of living than is typical nationwide, largely because the prices of goods and services statewide fall well below national prices.

The vast majority of metro areas on the list expanded, with their population increasing well beyond the 2.9% national population growth over the last five years. Costs of living tend to be higher in places where people want to live. These kinds of metro areas typically have abundant economic opportunity, reflected in the areas’ relatively high incomes and low poverty rates, compared to both the state and the country.

The most expensive city to live in Washington is the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. There, the cost of living is 14.5% higher than the average cost nationwide. The cost of living in Washington is 8.4% higher than is typical in the U.S.

Cities tend to have higher costs of living when their residents have higher incomes. In the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area the median household income is $94,027, well above the median in Washington, which is $78,687. The metro area also has a poverty rate of 7.8%, compared to the Washington poverty rate of 9.8%

To determine the most expensive city in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on cost of living from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Metropolitan areas were ranked based on the regional price parity for all goods and services as of 2019. Supplemental data on median household income and poverty rate came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.

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This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.