How much do households in the Seattle, WA area spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $1.85K, or 30.7% of their income, in 2018–2022. This is measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2018–2022, median rent was
30.7%
of median income
In 2018–2022,
$1.85K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability.
The median rent in the Seattle, WA area was approximately $1.85K per month from 2018 to 2022. The typical monthly income among renting households was around $6.02K per month during the same period.
A typical household spent about $1.85K on rent in the Seattle, WA area.
Median rent and median renter household income, 2018–2022
Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates greater affordability.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of median monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Seattle, WA area's rent-to-income ratio ranked 6 out of 11 Washington metros.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
Compared to other metro areas in Washington state, the Seattle, WA area had the highest median rent and highest median renter-household income. Out of the eleven metros in the state, the Seattle, WA area’s rent-to-income ratio ranked sixth lowest.
The large metro average rent-to-income ratio was 31.4%.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
The Seattle, WA area is a large metro. Large metros are defined as having over 1 million people. Compared to other large metros, the Seattle, WA area’s rent-to-income ratio is lower than is typical. The average among large metros was 31.4% in 2018–2022, 0.7 percentage points higher than that of the Seattle, WA area.
Renter income and rent, large metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Atlanta, GA area | $4,480 |
| 2. | Baltimore, MD area | $4,588 |
| 3. | Birmingham, AL area | $3,306 |
| 4. | Boston, MA area | $5,388 |
| 5. | Buffalo, NY area | $3,131 |
| 6. | Charlotte, NC area | $4,307 |
| 7. | Cincinnati, OH area | $3,462 |
| 8. | Cleveland, OH area | $3,222 |
| 9. | Columbus, OH area | $4,100 |
| 10. | Dallas, TX area | $4,738 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
United States Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program and 2 others
