Moving to Washington from Delaware
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Delaware to Washington — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Delaware to Washington, you would find that Washington is 11.4% more expensive than Delaware. A $75,000 salary in Delaware would need to be roughly $83,500 in Washington to maintain the same lifestyle. Wilmington and Seattle are about 2,350 mi apart.
Is Washington cheaper than Delaware?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 33.3% more
Groceries
pay 6.8% more
Transportation
pay 28.0% more
Housing
pay 7.3% more
Childcare
pay 1.6% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 6.6% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Washington?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $83,500
To maintain the same standard of living in Washington
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Washington cost about 25% more than cities in Delaware.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Delaware and Washington stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Delaware generally does better on safety, though Washington leads in violent crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Washington generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Delaware leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Delaware performs better than Washington across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Delaware generally does better on infrastructure, though Washington leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Washington generally does better on employment & economy, though Delaware leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Washington performs significantly better than Delaware across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Washington vs Delaware
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Dover | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) | 50°/38°F (10°/3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 75°/54°F (24°/12°C) | 64°/47°F (18°/8°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 84°/65°F (29°/18°C) | 74°/55°F (23°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 58°/40°F (15°/4°C) | 52°/41°F (11°/5°C) |
View all months
| Month | Dover | Seattle |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43°/27°F (6.3°/-2.7°C) | 47°/37°F (8.4°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 47°/29°F (8.3°/-1.7°C) | 50°/37°F (9.9°/2.7°C) |
| Mar | 55°/36°F (12.7°/2.0°C) | 54°/39°F (12.1°/4.1°C) |
| Apr | 66°/44°F (18.7°/6.8°C) | 58°/42°F (14.7°/5.7°C) |
| May | 75°/54°F (23.7°/12.1°C) | 65°/47°F (18.2°/8.5°C) |
| Jun | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.4°C) | 70°/52°F (21.1°/11.1°C) |
| Jul | 87°/68°F (30.6°/20.2°C) | 76°/56°F (24.3°/13.1°C) |
| Aug | 85°/67°F (29.6°/19.4°C) | 76°/56°F (24.6°/13.3°C) |
| Sep | 79°/60°F (26.3°/15.6°C) | 71°/52°F (21.4°/11.2°C) |
| Oct | 69°/49°F (20.4°/9.3°C) | 60°/46°F (15.4°/7.7°C) |
| Nov | 58°/40°F (14.7°/4.3°C) | 51°/40°F (10.5°/4.4°C) |
| Dec | 47°/31°F (8.6°/-0.6°C) | 46°/36°F (7.6°/2.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Washington than Delaware?
Day-to-day costs in Washington run about 11% higher than Delaware on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Washington?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,875 in Washington for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Washington safe?
Delaware generally does better on safety, though Washington leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Washington compared to Delaware?
Washington generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Delaware leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Washington compared to Delaware?
The average high temperature in Seattle is 60°F, compared to 66°F in Dover. Seattle receives around 37.5 in of rainfall per year, while Dover gets 46.1 in.
