Seattle vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Seattle	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3162	$3691
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7446	$8778
🏠 One person rent	$1981	$2299
🏘️ Family rent	$3407	$4069
🍽️ Food expenses	$810	$919
🚐 Transport expenses	$169	$198
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$6556	$8151
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	80	81
😀 Quality of life	93	100
🏙️ Population	737K	449K

The cost of living in Seattle is 14% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 125th and 23rd ($3162 vs $3691) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 92nd and 3rd 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 2.1 months in Seattle compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Seattle ranked 27th best city to live in the United States vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 99th and 2nd 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	$22.6	$27.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$104	$90.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.3	$20.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.17	$9.69
☕ Cappuccino	$6	$7.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.04	$5.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2119	$2543
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1641	$1977
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3861	$4563
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2873	$3579
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$169	$157
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$260	$240
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$76	$52.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.52%	2.08%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6864	$24740
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5184	$9963
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3	$4.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$107	$109
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18	$33.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.19	$2.26
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.37	$2.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$4.82	$3.29
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.75	$3.54
🥚 Eggs, x12	$7.26	$8.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$22.7	$24.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.4	$23.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$21.7	$53.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.07	$4.29
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.71	$2.89
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.36	$3.33
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.77	$5.27
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.16	$2.97
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.35	$2.27
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.75	$1.11
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.36	$3.93
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18	$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.72	$2.74
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12.1	$11.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$20.8
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$8.04	$5.39
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$5.94	$4.88
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.31	$3.84
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$74.8	$83.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$15.6	$23.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$148	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$28.1	$55.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$69.3	$138
👟 Brand Sneakers	$112	$150
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2178	$2616
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$29883	$22875

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	$2851
11 km or 6.5 mi	Bellevue	$3313
14 km or 8.5 mi	Kirkland	$2907
15 km or 9.2 mi	Tukwila	$2644
15 km or 9.5 mi	Burien	$2652
16 km or 10 mi	Bainbridge Island	$2814
17 km or 10 mi	Shoreline	$2723
17 km or 10 mi	Renton	$2552
17 km or 11 mi	Redmond	$3269
17 km or 11 mi	Kenmore	$2674
19 km or 12 mi	SeaTac	$2745
21 km or 13 mi	Bothell	$2730
22 km or 14 mi	Sammamish	$2812
22 km or 14 mi	Edmonds	$2669
23 km or 14 mi	Issaquah	$2741
24 km or 15 mi	Des Moines	$2641
24 km or 15 mi	Lynnwood	$2678
24 km or 15 mi	Bremerton	$2525
26 km or 16 mi	Kent	$2796
30 km or 19 mi	Mill Creek	$2655
33 km or 20 mi	Federal Way	$2523
34 km or 21 mi	Maple Valley	$2609
35 km or 21 mi	Mukilteo	$2632
35 km or 22 mi	Auburn	$2295
41 km or 25 mi	Everett	$2649
42 km or 26 mi	Tacoma	$2461
46 km or 28 mi	University Place	$2702
48 km or 30 mi	Puyallup	$2782
50 km or 31 mi	Lake Stevens	$2623
51 km or 32 mi	Lakewood	$2473
52 km or 33 mi	Marysville	$2603
57 km or 35 mi	Spanaway	$2384
74 km or 46 mi	Lacey	$2632
76 km or 47 mi	Olympia	$2551
78 km or 48 mi	Sequim	$2644
80 km or 50 mi	Oak Harbor	$2762
90 km or 56 mi	Mount Vernon	$2419
100 km or 62 mi	Port Angeles	$2480
109 km or 68 mi	Centralia	$2749
119 km or 74 mi	Victoria	$2114

Cities near Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3392
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$3276
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$3239
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$3282
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$3249
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$3153
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$3207
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$3225
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3207
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$3180
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3240
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3381
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3836
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$3169
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2747
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2699
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1684
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2489
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$3197
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2650
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$3231
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$3175
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1705
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1766
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2924
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1887
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1690
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2694
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1810
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1537
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3565
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1593
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1694
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1698
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2964
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1397
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1447
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1839
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2443
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$3041