Seattle vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Seattle	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3015	$3296
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7449	$8076
🏠 One person rent	$1896	$1966
🏘️ Family rent	$3549	$3466
🍽️ Food expenses	$746	$863
🚐 Transport expenses	$160	$211
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$6742	$7242
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	80	81
😀 Quality of life	91	98
🏙️ Population	737K	449K

The cost of living in Seattle is 9% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 158th and 59th ($3015 vs $3296) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 140th and 2nd in the United States and Switzerland, respectively. Check the United States vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.2 months in Seattle compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Seattle ranked 15th best city to live in the United States vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 98th and 5th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Seattle vs Zurich infographic

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Prices in Seattle vs Zurich

Prices for goods and services in Seattle and Zurich are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Seattle	Zurich
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$21.9	$26
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$90.4	$111
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$13.6	$17.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.98	$8.89
☕ Cappuccino	$5.55	$6.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.97	$5.47
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2086	$2155
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1567	$1671
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3947	$4080
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3067	$2967
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$157	$148
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$237	$226
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$68.8	$50.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.44%	2.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6966	$24070
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5351	$5867
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.73	$4.88
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$96.7	$94.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18	$41.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.16	$2.08
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.18	$1.99
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$4.03	$2.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.44	$3.45
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.89	$7.49
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.3	$22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.6	$22.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.4	$45.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.19	$3.52
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.38	$2.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.37	$2.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.76	$5.08
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.64	$2.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.47	$2.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.56	$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.91	$3.38
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.8	$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.15	$2.32
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12	$10
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.4	$21.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.95	$5.47
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$6.98	$3.9
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.49	$4.01
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$65.6	$72.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$16	$21.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$183	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$25.9	$54.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$68.9	$120
👟 Brand Sneakers	$101	$124
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2185	$2498
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$29407	$29610

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Seattle

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi	Mercer Island	$2826
11 km or 6.5 mi	Bellevue	$3273
14 km or 8.5 mi	Kirkland	$2882
15 km or 9.2 mi	Tukwila	$2624
15 km or 9.5 mi	Burien	$2642
16 km or 10 mi	Bainbridge Island	$2810
17 km or 10 mi	Shoreline	$2973
17 km or 10 mi	Renton	$2595
17 km or 11 mi	Redmond	$3239
17 km or 11 mi	Kenmore	$2718
19 km or 12 mi	SeaTac	$2741
21 km or 13 mi	Bothell	$2625
22 km or 14 mi	Sammamish	$2759
22 km or 14 mi	Edmonds	$2785
23 km or 14 mi	Issaquah	$2606
24 km or 15 mi	Des Moines	$2623
24 km or 15 mi	Lynnwood	$2726
24 km or 15 mi	Bremerton	$2462
26 km or 16 mi	Kent	$2784
30 km or 19 mi	Mill Creek	$2642
33 km or 20 mi	Federal Way	$2532
34 km or 21 mi	Maple Valley	$2579
35 km or 21 mi	Mukilteo	$2637
35 km or 22 mi	Auburn	$2338
41 km or 25 mi	Everett	$2589
42 km or 26 mi	Tacoma	$2517
46 km or 28 mi	University Place	$2604
48 km or 30 mi	Puyallup	$2644
50 km or 31 mi	Lake Stevens	$2604
51 km or 32 mi	Lakewood	$2449
52 km or 33 mi	Marysville	$2598
57 km or 35 mi	Spanaway	$2460
74 km or 46 mi	Lacey	$2571
76 km or 47 mi	Olympia	$2406
78 km or 48 mi	Sequim	$2692
80 km or 50 mi	Oak Harbor	$2751
90 km or 56 mi	Mount Vernon	$2542
100 km or 62 mi	Port Angeles	$2527
109 km or 68 mi	Centralia	$2523
119 km or 74 mi	Victoria	$2093

Cities near Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3037
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$2988
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$2934
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$2976
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$2974
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$2873
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$2970
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$2960
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3032
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$2893
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3059
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3099
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3426
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$2861
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2379
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2419
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1472
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2252
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$2897
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2262
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$2931
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$2891
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1555
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1609
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2614
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1731
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1447
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2464
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1641
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1382
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3233
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1453
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1434
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1442
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2643
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1267
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1286
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1656
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2352
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$2717