Climate
New York City logs 22 hot days a year to Seattle's 2 — Seattle wins by 20. Seattle also leads on frost days by 46.
New York City
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Seattle
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Seattle is $1103/mo cheaperNew York City runs about $5,415/mo for a balanced lifestyle against Seattle's $4,312/mo — Seattle comes in $1,103 cheaper each month, roughly 26% less.
New York City
$5,415monthly · balanced
Seattle
$4,312monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, New York City scores 3.6 vs Seattle's 3.4 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on public transit. Seattle still holds an edge on car efficiency.
Culture
New York City's culture score of 4.8 sits well above Seattle's 3.8, with the biggest gap on history museums.
Nature & Outdoors
Seattle's nature & outdoors score of 4.5 sits well above New York City's 4.0, with the biggest gap on mountain access. New York City still holds an edge on surfing & watersports.
Safety
Seattle's safety score is ~1.3× New York City's — in the middle of the scale, while New York City lands below average, with the biggest gap on road safety. New York City still holds an edge on wildfire safety.
Career
New York City's career score of 5.0 sits well above Seattle's 4.2, with the biggest gap on economic scale.
Social & Community
New York City's social & community score is ~1.3× Seattle's — in the upper band, while Seattle lands in the middle of the scale, with the biggest gap on street atmosphere.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, New York City scores 5.0 vs Seattle's 4.6 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on brunch availability.
Family
On family, New York City scores 4.3 vs Seattle's 4.0 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on universities. Seattle still holds an edge on playgrounds.
Healthcare
New York City and Seattle score neck-and-neck on healthcare (3.5 vs 3.5, 0–5 scale).
Air Quality
New York City averages 8.6 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus Seattle's 6.4 µg/m³ (good) — Seattle breathes ~26% cleaner air (2.2 µg/m³ lower).
New York City
Seattle
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
New York City (14.2M) and Seattle (2.1M) are 6.8x in population — New York City is the larger metro, Seattle the smaller; on land area New York City spans roughly 2.7x more ground.
New York City is roughly 4.3x the scale of Seattle
Combined population & area comparison
New York CitySeattleCity Scale Rankings
New York City14.2M6.8xSeattle2.1M1xNew York City3,031 km²2.7xSeattle1,123 km²1xNew York City
Seattle
Who Thrives Here
New York City favours the sunshine lover, while Seattle suits the mountain seeker. Both cities work well for the career builder.
Also compared
Frequently asked about New York City vs Seattle
▶Which is cheaper, New York City or Seattle?
▶How does the climate compare between New York City and Seattle?
▶Is New York City or Seattle safer?
▶Should I move to New York City or Seattle?
The best city depends on what matters to you
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