Rank #8 of 33
Seattle, WA
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
10.1
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$3.20
Avg taco price
$32.46
Median hourly wage (2024)
$4.00
Fast-casual taqueria
$2.39
Taco Bell crunchy taco
Seattle sits above the national average. An hour of local work buys 10.1 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (+0.8 vs national average).
Local note
Seattle's taco scene has grown dramatically in the last decade, with Tacos Chukis and a handful of Capitol Hill / Beacon Hill operators driving most of the volume. Pacific Northwest cost-of-living and Washington's high minimum wage place taco prices well above the national mid-tier.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Tacos Chukis ($2.75–$3.20 pastor / carnitas anchor), El Camion, Taqueria La Fondita, El Asadero — most trucks / taquerias $3.50–$5. Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $2.39 (verified via Uber Eats; 3 of 5 stores list $2.79, implying ~$2.39 in-store; PNW tier).
Average taco price ($3.20) is $0.43 above the national average of $2.77.
How this is calculated. Tacos per hour = median hourly wage ÷ average taco price.
Average taco price is the mean of the fast-casual taqueria anchor and the local Taco Bell crunchy taco price.
Wages come from BLS OEWS, May 2024, MSA-level median for all occupations.
Full methodology.