$100k salary, packing up from San Francisco

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Spokane, WA cityscape

if you left san francisco

Spokane

wa · metro 600k

photo: William Jacobs / pexels

a dispatch from

spokane

WA

47.66°N

117.43°W

Spokane is eastern Washington's anchor city, very different from Seattle: drier, sunnier, with the Spokane River tumbling through downtown in actual waterfalls. Riverfront Park (built for the 1974 World's Fair) is the city's living room. Bing Crosby was born here. Mt. Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Lake are nearby. The Bloomsday run every May draws around 40,000 people. Affordable and outdoorsy.

metro600k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$2,401

below San Francisco's monthly cost

Spokane is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
landable, recorded on the spokane entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,520/mo

52% cheaper than San Francisco(vs $3,146/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$775/mo less in state tax than San Francisco

vs 9.3% in San Francisco

03after rent

$6,813/mo

$2,401 more than San Francisco

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$420k

66% cheaper than San Francisco

vs $1239k in San Francisco

05metro size

600k

vs 4.6M in San Francisco

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

164

pleasant days a year, in spokane.

San Francisco actually gets more: 312 pleasant days a year. Cold snaps are part of the year: 34 days below 20° here, 0 in San Francisco.

Noticeably quieter than San Francisco. About 86% fewer events on a typical month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

81/100

2% lower than San Francisco

vs 83/100 in San Francisco

Closest outdoor draw: Mount Spokane, 16.5 mi.

·walk score®

91/100

8% lower than San Francisco

vs 99/100 in San Francisco

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

10

91% fewer than San Francisco

vs 111 nonstops in San Francisco

04 · see also

same energy as spokane, different zip code:

see also

boise

more flight options

turn the page

see also

allentown

more things to do

turn the page

see also

colorado springs

more things to do

turn the page

compare spokane with:

BoiseAllentownColorado Springs