2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to New Bedford, MA

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to New Bedford, MA.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$67,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-32.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$4,780
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$10,500
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$5,720/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

COL 158.8
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$0
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $79,180
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$26,160
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,020
Target Market
Destination Location

New Bedford, MA

COL 107.5
Gross Parity Income $67,700
Federal Income Tax -$6,064
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,179
State Income Tax -$3,165
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $53,292
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,660
Discretionary Cash Flow $37,632

EPI family budgets put living costs 32.3% lower in New Bedford, MA than in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, so $100,000 in Seattle goes about as far as $67,700 in New Bedford. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,180 a month in Seattle and $1,305 in New Bedford, $10,500 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,780 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in New Bedford. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $5,720 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $72,610 in Seattle and $53,680 in New Bedford (BLS figure for the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area).

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (Monthly) New Bedford (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,180$1,305-$875-40.1%
Food & Groceries$421$367-$54-12.8%
Transportation$1,020$997-$23-2.3%
Healthcare$398$409+$11+2.8%
Other Necessities$826$450-$376-45.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,133+$398+22.9%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$875/mo (-40.1%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,180/mo New Bedford: $1,305/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$881/mo (-34.6%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,549/mo New Bedford: $1,668/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$11.34/hr (-32.3%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $35.12/hr New Bedford: $23.78/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$7.66/hr (-24.6%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $31.10/hr New Bedford: $23.44/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Median New Bedford Median Nominal Wage Delta Action

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to New Bedford, MA Relocation FAQs

About $67,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 107.5 in New Bedford, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to New Bedford, MA: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: New Bedford, MA to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Relocation: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to New Bedford, MA Overview

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to New Bedford, MA: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in New Bedford, MA to match $100,000 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

About $67,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 107.5 in New Bedford, MA, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is New Bedford, MA cheaper than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 32.3% lower in New Bedford, MA than in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.