California vs Washington: which really costs more?
Two West Coast states often compared by remote workers: both expensive, but only one taxes income.
California
- State income tax
- 3.90%
- Rank of 51
- 20
- Combined sales tax
- 9.75%
- Rank of 51
- 2
Income tax shown is the effective state rate on a $75,000 salary for a single filer; sales tax is the combined state and local rate in each state's representative county. Both figures come from the same verified datasets the calculator uses.
What things actually cost in each
Gross income required at a $75,000 salary, using each category's default assumptions — sorted by the biggest difference between the two states.
| Category | California | Washington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | $1,393,868 | $1,133,114 | $260,755 cheaper in Washington |
| Car purchase | $153,607 | $132,759 | $20,848 cheaper in Washington |
| Wedding | $54,097 | $46,725 | $7,372 cheaper in Washington |
| Coffee habit | $29,490 | $25,613 | $3,877 cheaper in Washington |
| Car payment or lease | $18,974 | $16,529 | $2,445 cheaper in Washington |
| Funeral | $13,031 | $11,372 | $1,659 cheaper in Washington |
| Phone plan | $11,213 | $9,794 | $1,419 cheaper in Washington |
| Rent | $2,887 | $2,559 | $328 cheaper in Washington |
| Pet annual cost | $2,725 | $2,411 | $314 cheaper in Washington |
| Laptop or phone purchase | $2,112 | $1,869 | $243 cheaper in Washington |
| Childcare | $1,764 | $1,564 | $201 cheaper in Washington |
| Hotel stay | $1,122 | $994 | $128 cheaper in Washington |
| Health insurance premium | $722 | $640 | $82 cheaper in Washington |
| Student loan payment | $642 | $569 | $73 cheaper in Washington |
| Domestic flight | $526 | $466 | $60 cheaper in Washington |
| Utilities | $337 | $299 | $38 cheaper in Washington |
| Weekly groceries | $281 | $249 | $32 cheaper in Washington |
| Car insurance | $265 | $235 | $30 cheaper in Washington |
| Concert ticket | $240 | $212 | $28 cheaper in Washington |
| Restaurant dinner | $169 | $150 | $19 cheaper in Washington |
| Cannabis (legal states) | $113 | $101 | $13 cheaper in Washington |
| Internet service | $112 | $100 | $13 cheaper in Washington |
| Gym membership | $79 | $70 | $9 cheaper in Washington |
| Streaming bundle | $79 | $70 | $9 cheaper in Washington |
| Gas fill-up | $72 | $64 | $8 cheaper in Washington |
| Haircut | $67 | $60 | $8 cheaper in Washington |
| Pizza delivery | $65 | $58 | $8 cheaper in Washington |
| Food delivery | $62 | $55 | $7 cheaper in Washington |
| Soft drinks | $42 | $37 | $5 cheaper in Washington |
| Rideshare trip | $35 | $31 | $4 cheaper in Washington |
| Fast food meal | $21 | $19 | $2 cheaper in Washington |
| Bar drink | $19 | $17 | $2 cheaper in Washington |
| Cigarettes or vape | $16 | $14 | $2 cheaper in Washington |
Across the 33 categories we can compute for both states, Washington comes out cheaper more often. That is not the whole picture — housing costs, wages, and property tax vary far more than sales tax does, and none of those are modeled here. See limitations.