Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. Washington scores 107.0 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $80,260 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | Washington (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 107.0 | 6th of 51 |
| Rents | 126.0 | 6th of 51 |
| Goods | 104.4 | — |
| Other services | 103.9 | — |
Home electricity averaged 11.90 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $5.31 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 3,550,970 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in Washington, the median pay is $62,990 a year, or $30.28 an hour; that ranks 3rd of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $38,670 and one in ten more than $153,630.
Washington has no state income tax on wages. More on taxes in Washington. A single filer on the median $62,990, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $52,792 a year, or $2,030 every two weeks, after $5,379 of federal income tax, $4,819 of Social Security and Medicare. Work out your own paycheck in Washington.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 107,030 | $166,540 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 103,260 | $47,730 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 94,710 | $37,710 |
| Retail Salespersons | 84,850 | $39,560 |
| Registered Nurses | 69,260 | $124,200 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are software developers ($166,540), general and operations managers ($133,750), registered nurses ($124,200). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 39 Washington counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $440,705, and across the 27 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,827 a month. A typical home costs 4.90 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $3,440 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $147,444 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 2.6% of Washington's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +0.3% over the past year and +14.4% over five years, and rents +2.3% over the past year.
The most expensive Washington counties are San Juan County ($896,993), King County ($853,410) and Snohomish County ($746,872); the least expensive are Garfield County ($253,279), Columbia County ($278,631) and Ferry County ($295,359).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median Washington county, that comes to $46,773 a year for one adult and $109,595 for two adults and two children, of which $24,071 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $90,621.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,132 | $1,261 |
| Food | $12,751 | $1,063 |
| Transportation | $19,834 | $1,653 |
| Healthcare | $15,269 | $1,272 |
| Childcare | $24,071 | $2,006 |
| Other necessities | $8,833 | $736 |
| Taxes | $12,975 | $1,081 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 100 colleges in Washington, 48 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $18,913 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $47,869. Compare degrees and schools.
| Adams County | $312,234 | −1.9% | — | $70,719 | $98,025 |
| Asotin County | $351,788 | +1.3% | — | $82,213 | $104,163 |
| Benton County | $452,721 | +0.3% | $1,733 | $103,290 | $108,568 |
| Chelan County | $544,367 | −0.5% | $1,730 | $91,893 | $112,943 |
| Clallam County | $499,135 | −0.9% | $1,926 | $84,546 | $108,535 |
| Clark County | $551,055 | −0.1% | $1,886 | $108,973 | $129,273 |
| Columbia County | $278,631 | +1.0% | — | $101,653 | $103,320 |
| Cowlitz County | $424,669 | +0.3% | $1,392 | $86,738 | $114,195 |
| Douglas County | $500,547 | +2.9% | $2,245 | $89,320 | $114,181 |
| Ferry County | $295,359 | +2.2% | — | $74,688 | $98,020 |
| Franklin County | $421,428 | +0.2% | $1,659 | $88,256 | $105,177 |
| Garfield County | $253,279 | +11.1% | — | $86,616 | $98,548 |
| Grant County | $363,094 | +0.4% | $1,490 | $79,271 | $102,020 |
| Grays Harbor County | $325,970 | −1.2% | $1,449 | $79,893 | $106,765 |
| Island County | $645,646 | +0.5% | $2,116 | $105,012 | $121,739 |
| Jefferson County | $607,624 | +0.1% | $2,483 | $98,262 | $112,758 |
| King County | $853,410 | −2.2% | $2,346 | $154,490 | $164,944 |
| Kitsap County | $589,268 | +1.3% | $2,075 | $114,590 | $144,947 |
| Kittitas County | $502,405 | −0.1% | $1,827 | $99,709 | $110,166 |
| Klickitat County | $477,812 | +1.5% | — | $86,578 | $117,185 |
| Lewis County | $440,705 | +1.7% | $1,425 | $84,960 | $109,595 |
| Lincoln County | $327,829 | −1.0% | — | $84,203 | $100,749 |
| Mason County | $458,604 | +0.1% | $1,910 | $91,478 | $109,261 |
| Okanogan County | $317,305 | +0.4% | — | $72,420 | $100,152 |
| Pacific County | $342,166 | 0.0% | $1,664 | $83,188 | $111,405 |
| Pend Oreille County | $378,306 | +1.1% | — | $77,168 | $100,467 |
| Pierce County | $572,113 | +0.2% | $1,982 | $111,126 | $143,071 |
| San Juan County | $896,993 | −0.1% | — | $104,737 | $129,011 |
| Skagit County | $587,735 | +1.4% | $2,208 | $99,179 | $125,755 |
| Skamania County | $567,253 | −1.3% | — | $104,191 | $117,195 |
| Snohomish County | $746,872 | −1.8% | $2,242 | $127,475 | $144,712 |
| Spokane County | $429,071 | +0.1% | $1,552 | $94,226 | $113,836 |
| Stevens County | $379,290 | +1.6% | $1,400 | $81,867 | $104,428 |
| Thurston County | $532,113 | +0.3% | $2,090 | $111,908 | $123,938 |
| Wahkiakum County | $407,666 | +3.4% | — | $65,982 | $107,708 |
| Walla Walla County | $420,247 | +0.7% | $1,509 | $90,621 | $106,334 |
| Whatcom County | $621,299 | +0.2% | $1,986 | $102,596 | $125,886 |
| Whitman County | $339,135 | +1.3% | $1,392 | $91,032 | $99,559 |
| Yakima County | $358,246 | +1.2% | $1,421 | $76,662 | $103,250 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
Seattle, WA (typical rent $2,282), Portland, OR (typical rent $1,810), Spokane, WA (typical rent $1,552).
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County figures are medians across Washington's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.