2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Seattle-Tacoma, WA to Newport-Middleton, RI

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 Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$85,100
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-14.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,148
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$3,168
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$20/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

Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI

COL 135.2
Gross Parity Income $85,100
Federal Income Tax -$9,892
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,510
State Income Tax -$2,574
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $66,123
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$22,992
Discretionary Cash Flow $43,131

EPI family budgets put living costs 14.9% lower in Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI than in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, so $100,000 in Seattle goes about as far as $85,100 in Newport. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,180 a month in Seattle and $1,916 in Newport, $3,168 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,148 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Newport. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $20 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $72,610 in Seattle and $53,680 in Newport (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) Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,180$1,916-$264-12.1%
Food & Groceries$421$420-$1-0.2%
Transportation$1,020$1,003-$17-1.7%
Healthcare$398$373-$25-6.3%
Other Necessities$826$648-$178-21.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$1,997+$262+15.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$264/mo (-12.1%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,180/mo Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth: $1,916/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$42/mo (-1.6%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $2,549/mo Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth: $2,507/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.23/hr (-14.9%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $35.12/hr Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth: $29.89/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$3.95/hr (-12.7%)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue: $31.10/hr Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth: $27.15/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 Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth 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 Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI Relocation FAQs

About $85,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 135.2 in Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Relocation: Seattle-Tacoma, WA to Newport-Middleton, RI Overview

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA to Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Seattle-Tacoma, WA to Newport-Middleton, RI compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI to match $100,000 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

About $85,100. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (158.8 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 135.2 in Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI cheaper than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 14.9% lower in Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI than in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.