Seattle, WA vs Stockton, CA
Simple answer
You'd likely save $534 a month in Stockton.
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 housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 35.7 points (Seattle 151.3, Stockton 115.6).
Washington has no tax on wages. California taxes wages at rates up to 13.30%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.5 percentage points, higher in Washington. The effective property tax gap is 0.08 percentage points, higher in Washington.
After a move from Washington to California, 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 Seattle lines up with about $70,921 in Stockton on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Seattle
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,549
- HUD area
- Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $2,050
- All-items price parity
- 111.1
- Goods price parity
- 104.0
- Utilities price parity
- 92.8
- Mean commute
- 30.0 min
- Median household income
- $112,388
Stockton
Stockton-Lodi, CA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,015
- HUD area
- Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $1,788
- All-items price parity
- 105.1
- Goods price parity
- 105.2
- Utilities price parity
- 158.2
- Mean commute
- 34.6 min
- Median household income
- $93,038
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.
$70,921
Salary in Stockton that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$74,099
Gross salary in Stockton whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$59,288
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
| Tax | Washington | California |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | No wage tax | up to 13.30% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.5% | 9.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.79% | 0.71% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $3,141 a year in Washington and $2,828 in California. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in California
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Washington and once in California. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
SeattleLikely eligible
StocktonLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
SeattleLikely eligible
StocktonLikely eligible
WIC
SeattleLikely eligible
StocktonLikely eligible
School meals
SeattleLikely eligible
StocktonLikely eligible
LIHEAP
SeattleMaybe
StocktonMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
SeattleLikely eligible
StocktonLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
SeattleLikely eligible
StocktonLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
SeattleUnlikely
StocktonUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
SeattleLikely eligible
StocktonLikely eligible
SSI
SeattleUnlikely
StocktonUnlikely
| Program | Seattle | Stockton |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Seattle
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Seattle.
- Seattle and McAllen · rent gap $1,532
- Seattle and Wichita · rent gap $1,506
- Seattle and Little Rock · rent gap $1,428
- Seattle and Toledo · rent gap $1,404
- Seattle and El Paso · rent gap $1,403
- Seattle and Baton Rouge · rent gap $1,400
- Seattle and Columbia · rent gap $1,323
- Seattle and Tulsa · rent gap $1,320
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.