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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Providence to Spokane

Providence, RI vs Spokane, WA

Simple answer

You'd likely save $385 a month in Spokane.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $385: Providence is higher at $1,879 versus $1,494.

Rhode Island taxes wages at rates up to 5.99%. Washington has no tax on wages. Combined sales tax differs by 2.5 percentage points, higher in Washington. The effective property tax gap is 0.29 percentage points, higher in Rhode Island.

After a move from Rhode Island to Washington, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.

A $75,000 salary in Providence lines up with about $73,948 in Spokane on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Providence

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,879
HUD area
Providence-Fall River, RI-MA HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,396
All-items price parity
101.8
Goods price parity
97.1
Utilities price parity
148.8
Mean commute
27.9 min
Median household income
$82,870

Spokane

Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,494
HUD area
Spokane, WA HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,405
All-items price parity
100.3
Goods price parity
105.0
Utilities price parity
91.2
Mean commute
22.5 min
Median household income
$84,350

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$73,948

Salary in Spokane that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$70,695

Gross salary in Spokane whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$59,633

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxRhode IslandWashington
State income tax on wagesup to 5.99%No wage tax
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20267.0%9.5%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.07%0.79%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $4,289 a year in Rhode Island and $3,141 in Washington. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Washington

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Rhode Island and once in Washington. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    ProvidenceLikely eligible

    SpokaneLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    ProvidenceLikely eligible

    SpokaneLikely eligible

  • WIC

    ProvidenceLikely eligible

    SpokaneLikely eligible

  • School meals

    ProvidenceLikely eligible

    SpokaneLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    ProvidenceMaybe

    SpokaneMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    ProvidenceLikely eligible

    SpokaneLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    ProvidenceLikely eligible

    SpokaneLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    ProvidenceUnlikely

    SpokaneUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    ProvidenceLikely eligible

    SpokaneLikely eligible

  • SSI

    ProvidenceUnlikely

    SpokaneUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for Washington · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Providence

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Providence.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.