Gig Harbor ~ Cost Of Living. (Seattle, Tacoma: sales, real estate, homes)

[Vykki04]

Does Gig Harbor have a higher cost of living than a lot of Washington's cities? I will be relocating from California to GH and I know out here, there are some cities which have higher utilities, food, etc.

Thanks for your time!

[Rickers]

Gig Harbor is pricey and you may have to commute to Tacoma (yuck) for work. If you go there stop off at the Tides Tavern, years ago it was called Three Fingered Jacks ! I replaced some pilings under that place about 35 years ago.

[cabocurtis]

There is fairly good grocery store competition with Albertsons safeway and QFC and costco opened in the last year. Also compared to CA your power bill and water is cheaper and depending on what part of CA real estate should be much cheaper. Of course no state income tax in WA. Surprisingly for a small town pretty good gasoline prices compared to Seattle. The bridge to Tacoma adds a toll but do the fast pass program to save time and money. Traffic to and from the bridge to is much improved so I am okay with the new bridge and toll.

[Vykki04]

Originally Posted by cabocurtis

Of course no state income tax in WA.

This is what has me confused. I had originally heard this (isn't this where if you are buying, say ... a TV, if the price tag says $1000.00, then you pay $1000.00 not $1075.00)? I heard this a while back but was then told, no, that's Oregon. Of course... if it IS Washington, that's even better!

[cabocurtis]

I need to clarify. Washington State has sales tax like California but no income tax. So if you bought something for $1000 then the cost with tax is $1090(new mass transit tax brought sales tax up to 9%). This would not apply to services and groceries. The diffence in Ca is if you made $50,000 you have state income tax of lets say $4000 while in Wa state it is $0. You may be thinking of Oregon where there is not sales tax but they do have an income tax similar to CA.

[Vykki04]

Originally Posted by cabocurtis

I need to clarify. Washington State has sales tax like California but no income tax. So if you bought something for $1000 then the cost with tax is $1090(new mass transit tax brought sales tax up to 9%). This would not apply to services and groceries. The diffence in Ca is if you made $50,000 you have state income tax of lets say $4000 while in Wa state it is $0. You may be thinking of Oregon where there is not sales tax but they do have an income tax similar to CA.

Thank you for explaining that!

[mthomson]

Gig Harbor's home prices are a bit more than other areas of Washington, but nothing compared to Seattle, Bellevue, Mercer Island, etc. Most homes in Gig Harbor have septic, so there's no sewage costs. Many neighborhoods have community wells and independent electricity carriers, so our water and our electricity is pretty reasonable.

[Feybie]

Originally Posted by rickers

Gig Harbor is pricey and you may have to commute to Tacoma (yuck) for work. If you go there stop off at the Tides Tavern, years ago it was called Three Fingered Jacks ! I replaced some pilings under that place about 35 years ago.

Pricey compared to what?

[mthomson]

Home prices are higher in Gig Harbor than Tacoma, Olympia, and Port Orchard. Taxes however tend to be lower in GH than Tacoma. GH is still less expensive than Seattle, Bainbridge, or Bellevue.

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by cabocurtis

The diffence in Ca is if you made $50,000 you have state income tax of lets say $4000 while in Wa state it is $0. You may be thinking of Oregon where there is not sales tax but they do have an income tax similar to CA.

Just to clarify, according to the CA Franchise Tax Board's online tax calculator, the tax on an adjusted gross income of $50,000 in California is only $2346. That's on AGI - meaning you actually had a HIGHER gross income, but factoring in your deductions and exemptions to arrive at the 50K.

If your gross income was 50K before factoring all that in, of course, your tax would be lower.

Although the top tax rate is 9%, a good part of your income is not taxed or is taxed at a lower marginal rate. The tax is not 9% of your total AGI.