Now in WA I pay 0 income tax, 400 homeowners, 1000 car ins, and 3000 property tax. I saved almost 10000/year just by moving. My first day in WA I saw a sign at the 7-11 advertising two (TWO!) gallons of milk for $5. But this graphic says I live in a higher cost state, now. It sure doesn't feel like it.
If you’re near Oregon you can shop there and pay no sales tax
It probably depends where in the state you live. For instance, my state, Pennsylvania, comes out about average on this graphic. However, I live in western PA, near Pittsburgh. I know that the cost of living here is much lower than it is in the eastern part of the state nearer to Philly.
Probably it’s much the same in other states. NY is probably much cheaper if you’d ignore the NYC area. Similarly, with WA, probably it’s the Seattle area that drags the numbers down.
It has a lot to do with WHERE in WA you live. Soap Lake vs Seattle...
I will say this: I have a friend in Maple valley with a fairly nice house on one acre. I have a five year old house on 32 acres that are so spectacular that during a wedding we had there, the folks there that are in the wedding industry (including the pastor) said we had a wedding site gold mine. I caught the pastor with a friend being “mesmerized” by the view, though at the time I thought he was just “some guy”.
Meanwhile, my annual property taxes are less than my friends monthly property taxes.
This is an income tax state, but the sales taxes are fairly low. Meanwhile, there is talk of eliminating the income tax. It’s affecting growth and they know it.