Salary comparison
Medical Assistants: Santa Rosa vs Seattle
Santa Rosa, CA pays about 5.4% more for medical assistants on paper — $64,820 vs $61,500. But once you factor in what it costs to live there, Santa Rosa comes out ahead by $3,320 a year in real buying power.
Santa Rosa, CA
$64,820
$51,040
$77,710
$31.16
100
$64,820/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
Seattle, WA
$61,500
$54,900
$68,850
$29.57
100
$61,500/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
What the numbers mean in practice
The headline gap is $3,320 a year (5.4%) in favor of Santa Rosa. That is the raw salary difference before any living costs.
Santa Rosa runs a cost index of 100 against the national baseline of 100; Seattle sits at 100. After adjusting the median for those costs, Santa Rosa is the better deal by $3,320 a year — that is what each paycheck actually buys locally.
If you are weighing a move from Seattle to Santa Rosa for this role, the raise needs to beat 5.4% to come out ahead after living costs. Anything below that and you are earning more on paper but keeping less.
Common questions
Where do medical assistants earn more, Santa Rosa or Seattle?
Santa Rosa pays $64,820 on median — about 5.4% more than Seattle ($61,500). Based on BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Which city is the better deal after living costs?
Santa Rosa. Once you divide each median by the local cost index, Santa Rosa gives you roughly$64,820 of real buying power versus $61,500 in the other city.