2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Mercer Island, WA vs Albany, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Albany or is it cheaper to live in Mercer Island?
- Albany is 23.7% more expensive than Mercer Island.

Which city has more affordable housing, Albany or Mercer Island?
- Albany housing costs are 34.2% less expensive than Mercer Island housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Mercer Island or is Health Care more affordable in Albany.
- Health related expenses are 32.4% more in Albany.
 Mercer Island, WAAlbany, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock195.5100
 Food & Groceries116.3  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock116.8100
 Housing665.3  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$1,218,000$338,100
 Utilities71  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock122.7100
 Miscellaneous151.3  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Mercer Island    4 Reviews

Mercer Island is a wonderful family community. It feels much more "small town" than a city even though it has a population of 20,000+. People say hello and watch out  More

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Mercer Island is a suburb of Seattle, located on an island in Lake Washington. The best thing about Mercer Island is its strategically central location relative to the  More

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Mercer Island is a suburb of Seattle, located on an island in Lake Washington. The best thing about Mercer Island is its strategically central location relative to the  More

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Reviews for Albany    4 Reviews

Albany is one of the best places to live not only in California but the USA. Niche 2023 has ranked Albany the number one suburb in California and is consistently in the  More

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Over 13 years ago

Like many places in the Bay Area, there are some mixed-race couples and gay couples in Albany. What is really striking, though, is the number of families where both  More

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Albany was originally built as a railroad workers' town. So the bad news is that nearly every house was originally two, or at most three, bedrooms with one bath, about  More

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