Seattle vs San Francisco
The short version
- Seattle is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 4% lower than in the San Francisco area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $938,600 in Seattle and $1,394,500 in San Francisco.
- Households earn more in San Francisco ($140,970 vs $123,860 median).
- San Francisco has the warmer winter: January highs of 58°F vs 47°F.
- Seattle is growing faster: +6.5% since 2020 vs -6%.
- Commutes are shorter in Seattle (26 vs 30 minutes each way).
- Washington has no state income tax on wages; California's top rate is 13.3%.
Side by side
| Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 784,777 | 826,079 |
| Growth since 2020 | +6.5% | -6% |
| People per square mile | 9,343 | 17,695 |
| Median age | 35.6 | 40.0 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 68% | 60% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $123,860 | $140,970 |
| Median home value | $938,600 | $1,394,500 |
| Home value to income | 7.6× | 9.9× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $2,030 | $2,476 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 111.1 | 115.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 151.3 | 194.7 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $83,300 | $86,700 |
| Homeowners | 44% | 38% |
| Top state income tax | None | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.57% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 26.0 | 30.4 |
| Work from home | 35% | 31% |
| Take public transit | 12% | 19% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.6% | 6.1% |
| Poverty rate | 9.9% | 11.2% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 47° / 37° | 58° / 47° |
| July high / low | 77° / 57° | 66° / 54° |
| Precipitation per year | 38 in | 23 in |
| Snowfall per year | 4 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 2 | 3 |
| Nights below freezing | 25 | 0 |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 9 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Very High | Very High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 99.7 | 99.5 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 56% | n/a |
| Home prices, past year | +0.3% | -0.3% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +24.6% | +17.5% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Seattle: May to September. San Francisco: March to November.
Full monthly tables: Seattle weather by month and San Francisco weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $83,300 in Seattle and $86,700 in San Francisco. Moving from Seattle to San Francisco, you would need about $78,000 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Seattle and San Francisco
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Seattle and San Francisco.
Which would you pick?
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