New York composite
35.1 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
New York vs Seattle
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 35.1
- New York Life Score
- D
- New York grade
- 44.2
- Seattle Life Score
- C
- Seattle grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, New York scores higher on 2 (rent, childcare) and Seattle on 5 (cost of living, wages, safety, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
New York vs Seattle across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ New York Seattle ◗
cost of living
1
2
wages
99
99
rent
5
4
safety
37
46
schools
5
72
childcare
19
12
environment
65
82
New York and Seattle differ across eleven dimensions of livability. New York has a cost-of-living index of 112.6 vs Seattle's 111.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $87,148 in New York and $92,550 in Seattle. A 2-bedroom averages $2,324/mo vs $2,501/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the New York vs Seattle Comparison
New York (NY) and Seattle (WA) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 112.6 for New York against 111.1 for Seattle, a 1.4-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $2,324/mo in New York and $2,501/mo in Seattle, a $177/mo difference that compounds to $2,124 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $87,148 across 9,414,820 jobs in New York against $92,550 across 2,057,860 jobs in Seattle. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in New York carries the same local purchasing power as $98,730 in Seattle - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 380.0 per 100,000 residents in NY vs 329.3 in WA, with property-crime rates of 1661.2 and 2498.3 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: NY lists 4,812 public schools at a 11.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while WA lists 2,465 schools at 17.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $13,869/yr in the New York area versus $15,987/yr in Seattle - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, New York and Seattle are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Seattle composite
44.2 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
1.4 pts
New York vs Seattle BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$177 /mo
Seattle priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
New York
New York composite (Grade D)
Seattle
Seattle composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | New York | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 112.6 | 111.1 |
| Goods | 110.3 | 104.0 |
| Services | 127.0 | 92.8 |
| Rents | 148.6 | 151.3 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Seattle gives the same purchasing power as your salary in New York?
$
Equivalent in Seattle:
$98,730
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (New York: 112.6, Seattle: 111.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | New York | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,778/mo | $2,074/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $2,024/mo | $2,146/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,324/mo | $2,501/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,835/mo | $3,272/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $3,618/mo | $3,847/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | New York | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $87,148 | $92,550 |
| Total Employment | 9,414,820 | 2,057,860 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | New York (NY) | Seattle (WA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 380.0 | 329.3 |
| Property Crime | 1661.2 | 2498.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | NY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 4,812 | 2,465 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 11.8:1 | 17.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 7.1% | 0.6% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | NY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $13,869/yr | $15,987/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $12,979/yr | $12,531/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $11,679/yr | $12,531/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | NY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 688 | 367 |
| Water Systems | 2,201 | 2,397 |
| Superfund Sites | 122 | 69 |
| Water Violations | 5,270 | 2,705 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | New York | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 52.0 | 47.0 |
| Good Air Days | 44.8% | 57.6% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 24 days | 4 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | NY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 7/100 | 10/100 |
| Total Violations | 552,003 | 314,648 |
| Health-Based Violations | 26,817 | 20,590 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.4% | 92.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | NY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 546 | 597 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | NY | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 37/100 | 37/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 69.4 | 70.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 70.4 | 69.0 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New York more expensive than Seattle? ▼
New York has a cost of living index of 112.6 compared to Seattle's 111.1 (national average = 100). New York is 1.4 points above Seattle on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between New York and Seattle? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $2,324/mo in New York vs $2,501/mo in Seattle, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,778/mo to $2,074/mo.
How do salaries compare between New York and Seattle? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $87,148 in New York and $92,550 in Seattle, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in New York has the same purchasing power as $98,730 in Seattle.
Is New York or Seattle safer? ▼
At the state level, NY has a violent crime rate of 380.0 per 100,000 residents compared to WA's 329.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1661.2 vs 2498.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between New York and Seattle? ▼
NY has 4,812 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.8:1, while WA has 2,465 schools at 17.6:1. Charter schools make up 7.1% of NY schools vs 0.6% in WA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial