How much do households in Washington state spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $1.63K per month, or 31.6% of their income, in 2022. This is measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2022, median rent was
31.6%
of median income
In 2022,
$1.63K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. 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 it’s more affordable.
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 average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Washington state's rent-to-income ratio was lower than in the US overall in 2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income
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The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Washington state, the rent-to-income ratio reached 31.1% that year. Most recently, in 2022, Washington state’s rent-to-income ratio was 31.6%, 0.1 percentage points lower than the national rate.
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.8% in 2018–2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
In 2018–2022, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.8%. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Mayagüez, Puerto Rico area at 56.9% (highest) and Sheboygan, Wisconsin area at 21.7% (lowest). In Washington state, the highest and lowest were Bellingham, WA area at 33.8% and Wenatchee, WA area at 26.7%.
During that period, the Seattle area had the highest median rent at $1.85K per month and highest median monthly income at $6.02K out of eleven Washington metro areas. Its rent-to-income ratio was sixth highest in the state.
Renter income and rent, Washington state metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Bellingham, WA area | $4,051 |
| 2. | Bremerton, WA area | $5,257 |
| 3. | Kennewick, WA area | $4,148 |
| 4. | Longview, WA area | $3,726 |
| 5. | Mount Vernon, WA area | $4,203 |
| 6. | Olympia, WA area | $4,624 |
| 7. | Seattle, WA area | $6,020 |
| 8. | Spokane, WA area | $3,676 |
| 9. | Walla Walla, WA area | $3,333 |
| 10. | Wenatchee, WA area | $4,328 |
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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
