$100k salary, packing up from San Diego
changea dispatch from
olympia
WA
47.04°N
122.90°W
Olympia is the Washington state capital, much smaller and chiller than Seattle. Evergreen State College gives it a hippie-anarchist energy (the riot grrrl music movement essentially started here, with Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney's name coming from a local road). The capitol dome is one of the tallest in the country. Puget Sound oysters are the regional star. Mossy, mellow, and underrated.
in our guides
the verdict
under San Diego, every month
Olympia is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
a quick ledger.
$1,991/mo
31% cheaper than San Diego(vs $2,890/mo)
0%
$775/mo less in state tax than San Diego
vs 9.3% in San Diego
$6,342/mo
$1,674 more than San Diego
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$533k
47% cheaper than San Diego
vs $1010k in San Diego
299k
vs 3.3M in San Diego
field notes, weather & such.
182
pleasant days a year, in olympia.
San Diego has the edge here, logging 332 pleasant days a year.
But the calendar thins out: San Diego stays Infinity× busier.
80/100
7% higher than San Diego
vs 75/100 in San Diego
Closest outdoor draw: Mount Rainier National Park, 41.9 mi.
88/100
11% lower than San Diego
vs 99/100 in San Diego
90
64% more than San Diego
vs 55 nonstops in San Diego
compare olympia with:
