Seattle, WA Rental Market Trends

Seattle Rent Report: July 2024

Welcome to the Apartment List July 2024 Rent Report for Seattle, WA. Currently, the overall median rent in the city stands at $2,064, after rising 0.8% last month. Prices and are now up 0.4% year-over-year. Read on to learn more about what’s been happening in the Seattle rental market and how it compares to trends throughout the broader Seattle metro area and the nation as a whole.

Seattle rents are up 0.8% month-over-month and flat year-over-year

The median rent in Seattle rose by 0.8% over the course of June, and has now increased by a total of 0.4% over the past 12 months. Seattle’s rent growth over the past year has has fallen behind the state average (1.4%) but has outpaced the national average (-0.7%).

Seattle rent growth in 2024 pacing similar last year

Six months into the year, rents in Seattle have risen 4.7%. This is a similar rate of growth compared to what the city was experiencing at this point last year: from January to June 2023 rents had increased 4.3%.

June rent growth in Seattle ranked #32 among large U.S. cities

Seattle rents went up 0.8% in the past month, compared to the national rate of 0.4%. Among the nation's 100 largest cities, this ranks #32. Similar monthly rent growth took place in Boise, ID (0.8%) and Oakland, CA (0.7%).

Seattle is the #16 most expensive large city in the U.S., with a median rent of $2,064

Citywide, the median rent currently stands at $1,926 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $2,404 for a 2-bedroom. Across all bedroom sizes (ie, the entire rental market), the median rent is $2,064. That ranks #16 in the nation, among the country's 100 largest cities.

For comparison, the median rent across the nation as a whole is $1,239 for a 1-bedroom, $1,396 for a 2-bedroom, and $1,411 overall. The median rent in Seattle is 46.3% higher than the national, and is similar to the prices you would find in Los Angeles, CA ($2,100) and Oakland, CA ($1,947).

Seattle rents are 2.7% higher than the metro-wide median

If we expand our view to the wider Seattle metro area, the median rent is $2,009 meaning that the median price in Seattle proper ($2,064) is 2.7% greater than the price across the metro as a whole. Metro-wide annual rent growth stands at 1.8%, above the rate of rent growth within just the city.

The table below shows the latest rent stats for 21 cities in the Seattle metro area that are included in our database. Among them, Sammamish is currently the most expensive, with a median rent of $3,056. Lakewood is the metro’s most affordable city, with a median rent of $1,449. The metro's fastest annual rent growth is occurring in Bellevue (8.6%) while the slowest is in Shoreline (-4.7%).

You can also use the map below to explore the latest rent trends in the Seattle metropolitan area.

Methodology

Apartment List is committed to the accuracy and transparency of our rent estimates. We begin with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, capturing apartment transactions over time to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country. Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. For more details, please see the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology.

Data Access

Apartment List publishes monthly rent reports and underlying data for hundreds of cities across the nation, as well as data aggregated for counties, metros, and states. These data are intended to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions. Insights from our data are covered regularly by journalists across the country. To access the data yourself, please visit our Data Downloads Page.