Where Do I Move?

West · Washington · pop 151.2K

Bellevue, WA

Fit score

Fair match

at the reference profile: one person earning $6,700/mo gross, default weights.

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After estimated taxes in WA, your $6,700/mo income nets about $5,426 — covering estimated essentials here (about $2,146 rent plus everyday costs incl. local sales tax) with roughly $464 left over.

Expect summer highs near 77°F, winter lows around 37°F, and about 159 sunny days a year.

Reported crime rates sit below most similar-sized cities in this dataset.

Tradeoff: the local job market is softer than most on this list (4.6% unemployment).

AFFORDABILITY66HOUSING45JOBS38SAFETY79CLIMATE92AMENITIES55

The Bellevue fit print

Est. monthly cost

$4,962/mo

Typical rent

$2,501/mo

Home value ÷ income

7.5×

What's in the monthly estimate

Rentmeasured

Zillow asking rent, scaled to a 1-bedroom via HUD bedroom spread

$2,146
Utilitiesmeasured

Asking rents exclude them; gross-rent figures already include them

$224
Everyday essentialsmeasured

BLS survey basket × BEA regional price parity — split below by national spending shares

$2,692
  • Food (groceries & dining out)$906
  • Transportation (car, gas, insurance)$827
    • Car payment & upkeep$399
    • Gas$269
    • Car insurance$145
    • Tolls & parking$14
  • Healthcare (premiums & out-of-pocket)$388
  • Household goods & services$259
  • Apparel & personal care$181
  • Everything else$131
Less: transit savingsmeasured

Transit here is strong enough that many households go car-light

$99
Estimated monthly cost
$4,962± $320 · $4,642$5,282

The range is widest on everyday essentials — saving your own figures for it in your profile narrows this.

Every line is measured for this city · data acs2023-5yr. For a household of 1. Excludes income tax (applied to your earnings separately) and debt payments; healthcare is the national average inside the basket, not localized. See the methodology for sources.

Score breakdown

Affordability
66
Housing
45
Jobs
38
Safety
79
Climate
92
Amenities
55

The data behind the score

Money (Census ACS · HUD)

Median gross rent
$2,505/mo
HUD fair market rent (2BR)
$2,501/mo
Median home value
$1,203,100
Median household income
$161,300
Population
151,199

Work (BLS)

Unemployment rate
4.6%
Job growth (1yr)
-1.6%

Safety (FBI CDE, per 100k)

Violent crime rate
116
Property crime rate
2,243

Climate (NOAA normals)

Avg. summer high
77°F
Summer afternoons feel like
77°F
Summer dew point
52°F (dry)
Avg. winter low
37°F
Sunny days / year
159
Days ≥100°F by 2050 (air temp)
≈0/yr
Dangerous humid days by 2050 (feels-like)
≈1/yr
Unhealthy air days
≈4/yr
Annual rain
40"
Annual snow
7"

Community & access (approx.)

2024 county margin
D+52
Bachelor's degree or higher
≈71%
Major airport
≈15 mi
Time zone
PT
Walkability
63/100
Transit
62/100
Disaster risk
43/100
Top natural hazard
Volcanic activity
Local pay covers local costs. A typical Bellevue household earns about $161k — enough to cover the local cost of living (about $92k to break even here). Taking a local job here is realistic.
A citywide number is an average. Rent, safety, and everything else vary block by block — treat these figures as a starting point and research specific neighborhoods before committing.

Data vintage: acs2023-5yr. Sources & methodology

Natural-hazard risk

Wildfire

moderate risk

Hurricanes

low risk

Tornadoes

low risk

Flooding

low risk

Earthquakes

high risk

Severe winter

moderate risk

Drought / water stress

low risk

Per-hazard risk-index scores from FEMA's National Risk Index for this city's county, with any hazard FEMA doesn't score filled in by our model. Screen by hazard from search.

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Go deeper

Buy vs. rent the median home

Owning the median Bellevue home would run about $7,357/mo (mortgage, tax, insurance, upkeep) versus $2,501/mo to rent — about $4,856/mo more to buy at today's 6.58% rate.

To own$7,357/mo
Mortgage (P&I)
$6,134
Property tax
$763
Insurance
$125
Maintenance
$335
To rent$2,501/mo

Buying costs about $4,856/mo more.

Median home $1,203,100 · $240,620 down

Estimate only: 30-year fixed, measured local property tax where available, state-average homeowners insurance, ~1%/yr maintenance. Insurance and upkeep are charged on the estimated cost to REBUILD the house, not on its market price — land needs neither a roof nor a policy, so pricing them off the sticker overcharges expensive-land markets and undercharges cheap ones. That rebuild cost is estimated from local price levels, not measured per home, so it won't match a specific property's square footage or condition. The figures here are pre-tax outlay: the mortgage-interest and property-tax deduction is applied to your take-home pay in the search instead, so it is counted once rather than subtracted from the payment below. Part of the mortgage payment builds equity, which a pure outlay comparison ignores; and the median home is typically larger than the median rental, which biases the gap toward renting. Ignores closing costs, HOA dues, and the opportunity cost of the down payment. PMI is included below 20% down as a mid-band estimate — the real rate also moves with credit score, and it drops off at 78% LTV rather than lasting the whole loan. In California the rate shown is Prop 13's 1% statutory base for a new purchase, so it runs slightly low where local bonds apply. Not a lending quote.

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Cite this page

Every figure here is computed from public federal data. If you quote one, link the page it came from — the assumptions behind it are stated there, and the numbers change as the underlying data updates.

Where Do I Move?. "Bellevue, WA — cost of living, rent & Fit Score." Data vintage acs2023-5yr. Accessed September 6, 2026. https://wheredoimove.com/city/bellevue-wa

What will the move cost?

Moving to Bellevue

About 2,394 mi from New York, NY.

DIY — rental truck

$2,950$4,250

One-way truck, mileage, and fuel. Your labor.

Full-service movers

$7,350$10,550

Pros load, drive, and unload. Packing usually extra.

Rough estimates from distance and household size — real quotes vary with season, access, exact inventory, and fuel. Get a few binding quotes before you book.

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