Seattle a haven for fleeing Bay Area tech workers

Seattle is a popular destination for anybody these days.

But it might be a particularly popular spot for tech workers fleeing a Bay Area cost of living that has turned from high to nightmarish.

A new study from Zillow and LinkedIn found Seattle tech workers to have the most money left over after paying rent -- about 54 percent of their income -- while San Francisco techies only hang onto about 36 percent of theirs.

“Housing is the biggest line item in most people’s budgets, so we did the math for you and found ‘sweet spots’ -- places with great job markets and housing markets that will leave you with some cash at the end of the month,” said Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist, in a news release.

While Seattle home prices and rents have soared in recent years, they have yet to touch the stratospheric levels seen in San Francisco, where the median home value is $1.14 million and rent averages more than $4,000 per month, according to Zillow figures.

Amazon is among a host of Seattle tech companies that are hiring workers from all over by the bunches. But, in particular, Seattle is a haven for San Francisco tech workers who can earn nearly as much money but with much lower costs for housing than in the Bay Area. A Zillow/LinkedIn study found that they have loads of money left over in Seattle after rent or mortgage costs, a lot more left over than in San Francisco.

Pictured: Construction workers walk among triangles of glass at the Amazon biospheres construction site in downtown Seattle on Oct. 21, 2017. less Amazon is among a host of Seattle tech companies that are hiring workers from all over by the bunches. But, in particular, Seattle is a haven for San Francisco tech workers who can earn nearly as much money but ... more Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Seattle a haven for fleeing Bay Area tech workers 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

Meanwhile, Seattle’s tech industry is booming, with job openings aplenty and salaries that are high enough to make the cost of living sound cheap.

According to data from Glassdoor.com, the starting salary for a software engineer in Seattle is more than $108,000 a year -- and that’s before any signing bonuses and other compensation.

Seattle tech workers have about $5,500 a month left over as disposable income after rent, and those who buy homes will have even more left over -- about $5,900 per month, according to the Zillow/LinkedIn report.

It’s that market that has attracted thousands of new residents in recent years, and a majority of those incoming residents have likely come from California.

In February, Washington state saw 2,570 new drivers move from the Golden State -- about 20 percent of the 12,413 from across the U.S., the most from any state, according to data from the Washington Department of Licensing.

King County took the vast majority of those incoming drivers -- 1,047.

Licensing data can be representative of migration trends, though it obviously can’t account for all migrants.

In the Zillow and LinkedIn data, 13.6 percent of Seattle-area tech workers on LinkedIn reported a recent job change, meaning a healthy chunk of tech workers just got hired.

Washington has historically seen the highest number of new drivers come from California, at least since 1982. Oregon sends the next-highest number, but that’s still only about half.

Since 1982, nearly 1 million Californians have moved to Washington state.

The tech boom has been synonymous with a surge of new drivers moving from California.

Last July saw the biggest influx in available records when 4,702 new drivers moved from California.

The early 1990s and the mid-2000s -- times when Microsoft and, later, Amazon were growing -- also saw high numbers of California drivers headed north to the Evergreen State.

Daniel DeMay covers Seattle culture, business and transportation for seattlepi.com. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.