?WhereToHQ

Residential comparison · 13 facts

Bellevue, WA vs Mercer Island, WA

Compare the housing, tax, cost, income, safety, school, and climate facts that are available for both places. The table shows the numbers without declaring one city universally better.

A household earning $85,000 in Bellevue needs about $84,000 in Mercer Island to keep the same lifestyle.
Coming from Mercer Island, $85,000 of lifestyle costs about $86,000 in Bellevue.

A few differences

Bellevue vs Mercer Island · facet by facet
FacetBellevue, WAMercer Island, WA
Median home price$1,340,300$2,000,001
2-bedroom rent$2,647/mo$2,929/mo
Property tax rate0.87%0.87%
State & local income tax0%0%
Sales tax9.4%9.4%
Cost of living index177218
Groceries index106106
Utilities$155/mo$155/mo
Median household income$165,576$219,069
Unemployment rate4.3%4.3%
Crime index50/10050/100
School rating6.5/106.5/10
Sunny days / year155 days155 days

Data: Census ACS 2024 · BLS · Tax Foundation 2024 brackets · HUD/Zillow · NOAA 1991–2020 · FEMA NRI · Values are shown as reported; no universal winner is implied.

Full profiles: Bellevue, WA · Mercer Island, WA
Questions & answers
Is Bellevue cheaper than Mercer Island?
Bellevue has the lower day-to-day cost index (177 vs 218 against a national 100). The other differences are shown facet by facet in the table.
What household income in Mercer Island equals $85,000 in Bellevue?
A household earning $85,000 in Bellevue needs about $84,000 in Mercer Island to keep the same lifestyle; coming the other way, $85,000 of Mercer Island lifestyle costs about $86,000 in Bellevue.