How expensive is Washington compared to other states? Here’s where we rank
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Report finds Washington fifth-least affordable state, costs rising fastest.
- Advocates say tax and regulatory costs are showing up in higher prices.
- Consumer spend per person in WA rose nearly 55% over 10 years.
Washington state is the fifth priciest place in the U.S., according to a new report.
On Friday, the business advocacy and economic policy group Washington Roundtable and the consulting firm Kinetic West released the “Prices We Pay: Understanding Washington’s Affordability Crisis” study.
The analysis found that over the past decade, the cost of living has surged in the Evergreen State faster than anywhere else in the nation — with prices increasing more than twice as fast as the most expensive state, California.
Washington is a costly outlier, the report says, coming in as the country’s fifth-least affordable place based on price levels overall. It lags behind only California, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Hawaii.
This comes as more than 8 in 10 Washingtonians report being concerned about their personal finances, and as 85% are worried about the availability of good-paying jobs and the state’s economy, the study asserts, citing February 2026 polling from the Fulcrum Strategy Group.
Rachel Smith, Washington Roundtable’s president, said in a March 20 news release that the increasing costs of tax policy and regulations are being felt in homes statewide. She added that Washington should aim to be average in terms of its taxes.
In Smith’s view, the state can’t continue on its current tax trajectory — referencing the business and occupation, capital gains, estate, new income, and state and local sales taxes — “without those costs showing up in the rising prices families pay every day.”
Washington Democrats in the 2026 session passed an income tax that imposes a 9.9% levy on annual household earnings above $1 million; Gov. Bob Ferguson has yet to sign it into law. Lawmakers also worked to roll back recent spikes to Washington’s top estate tax rates amid worries that some residents may move to avoid paying the tax.
The “Prices We Pay” report found that each of Washington’s dozen metropolitan statistical areas placed within the top 25% of the most expensive MSAs nationwide.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ranked as the fifth-costliest out of 386 MSAs in the U.S., behind just four others in California, according to the data. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater placed as the nation’s 26th most expensive MSA.
Housing affordability has plummeted in recent years in cities like Tacoma, Bellingham, Vancouver and Spokane, the study notes, underscoring the widening delta between home prices and median incomes.
Consumer spend per person in Washington, meanwhile, hiked nearly 55% over a decade, jumping from about $40,650 in 2015 to roughly $62,835 in 2024, according to Washington Roundtable.
Researchers used data from the Consumer Price Index, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the MIT Living Wage Calculator and more to put together the report.
They also cited independent analysis showing Washington ranks as the most expensive state in the nation for dining out, the second-priciest for gas, and the fifth-costliest for child care.
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "How expensive is Washington compared to other states? Here’s where we rank."
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