Rent affordability
How much rent can you afford in Seattle, WA?
You need an income of about $82,160 a year to rent a typical 1-bedroom in Seattle under the 30% rule. That apartment rents for about $1,790 a month in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro as of August 2026, plus about $264 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. At Seattle's median household income of $123,860, the rule leaves about $2,832 a month for rent.
- Metro 1-bedroom
- $1,790 / month
- Income needed
- $82,160 / year
- Housing share
- 20% of gross
- Apartment utilities
- $184 / month
Max rent in Seattle, WA
$2,832/mo
30% of gross income is $3,096 a month. Utilities, internet, and renters insurance take $264, which leaves $2,832 for rent.
A typical 1-bedroom in the Seattle metro rents for about $1,790, $1,042 under your max.
- Take-home
- $7,994/moAfter estimated federal tax, state tax, and FICA.
- Move-in cash
- $5,664First month and a one-month deposit, at your max rent.
- Landlord screen
- $3,440/moHighest rent if a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
Monthly budget
Where take-home pay of $7,994 goes at your max rent of $2,832. Each slice is its share of take-home.
- Rent36%$2,832
- Electric, gas, water2%$184
- Internet1%$66
- Renters insurance<1%$14
- Left over61%$4,898
Housing comes to $3,096 a month, 30% of gross income and 39% of take-home. That leaves $4,898 for food, transportation, savings, and everything else.
Search Seattle, WA
Find 1-bedrooms in Seattle, WA under $2,800
Rounded down from your max rent of $2,832.
What renters in Seattle pay and earn
Of the 363,466 households in Seattle, 56% rent. The median renter household earns $88,103 a year. Median gross rent, which is rent plus utilities across every lease including ones signed years ago, is $2,030 a month. 44% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 20% spend half or more.
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro's 1-bedroom asking rent of $1,790 is 6% below the $1,899 median gross rent for a 1-bedroom in Seattle, which includes utilities.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024, for Seattle city, Washington. See how Seattle compares in the affordability rankings.
Rent in Seattle
Seattle is the main city of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro. Updated August 2026, -1.2% from a year earlier. The 1-bedroom median moved from $1,811 in August 2025 to $1,790 in August 2026. The 2-bedroom median moved from $2,072 in August 2025 to $2,049 in August 2026. Studio and 3-bedroom figures are estimates scaled from the published 1- and 2-bedroom medians.
This series is the metro median from Apartment List, not a single building. brightplace also stores each community's asking rent from daily listing scrapes. That history stays on the property page, because a building's price is not the city median. brightplace lists 480 apartment communities with units available in Seattle, about 16,568 apartments in all. Browse communities in Seattle.
How median rent changed
Each point is the overall median asking rent for one month. The vertical scale runs from the low to the high in this period, not from zero. Percentages on the right are the change since August 2025, marked by the dashed line.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA median rent: $2,044 in August 2025 to $2,020 in August 2026, down 1.2%. Low $1,958, high $2,044. 1-bedroom $1,790 in August 2026. 2-bedroom $2,049 in August 2026.
| Month | Overall | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | $2,044 | $1,811 | $2,072 |
| September 2025 | $2,035 | $1,803 | $2,064 |
| October 2025 | $2,014 | $1,784 | $2,042 |
| November 2025 | $1,986 | $1,760 | $2,014 |
| December 2025 | $1,963 | $1,740 | $1,991 |
| January 2026 | $1,958 | $1,734 | $1,985 |
| February 2026 | $1,962 | $1,738 | $1,990 |
| March 2026 | $1,973 | $1,748 | $2,001 |
| April 2026 | $1,983 | $1,757 | $2,011 |
| May 2026 | $1,996 | $1,768 | $2,024 |
| June 2026 | $2,010 | $1,781 | $2,038 |
| July 2026 | $2,018 | $1,788 | $2,046 |
| August 2026 | $2,020 | $1,790 | $2,049 |
True monthly cost
What a typical apartment costs each month at the metro median rent: rent plus an apartment utility estimate, state-average internet, and state-average renters insurance. Studio and 3-bedroom rents are estimates. Utilities and insurance are estimates, not a quote from a building.
| Cost | Studio | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom | 3-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | $1,618 | $1,790 | $2,049 | $2,911 |
| Utilities (estimate) | $166 | $184 | $269 | $382 |
| Internet (estimate) | $66 | $66 | $66 | $66 |
| Renters insurance (estimate) | $14 | $14 | $14 | $14 |
| Total | $1,864 | $2,054 | $2,398 | $3,373 |
The household utility median in Seattle is $493 a month. Apartment bills are lower than that all-household figure, so the estimate scales a national apartment baseline instead of using it directly.
Take-home pay and max rent
Single filer, standard deduction, estimated Washington income tax and FICA. Max rent is 30% of gross minus about $264 a month for 1-bedroom utilities, internet, and renters insurance. The landlord column is the highest rent when a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
| Gross income | Take-home / month | Max rent | Landlord screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,860 | $736 | $1,111 |
| $60,000 | $4,199 | $1,236 | $1,666 |
| $80,000 | $5,426 | $1,736 | $2,222 |
| $100,000 | $6,598 | $2,236 | $2,777 |
Rent versus buying in the metro
The monthly cost of the median-priced home in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA was about $6,100, which is $4,080 more than the $2,020 median rent. That ownership cost was down 5.0% from a year earlier. The metro's price-to-income ratio is 6.92. The ratio was down 2.0% from a year earlier. Over five years it was up 12.9%. This is a metro-level comparison from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, not a payment on a specific house.
Household income in Seattle
The calculator starts from Seattle's median household income of $123,860 (±$2,244), the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimate for Seattle city, Washington. The 5-year series is the one the Census publishes for every city. The 1-year figures below are newer but cover only larger areas. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates put median household income at $112,388 in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro (down 1.4% from 2023) and $99,389 in Washington (up 2.1% from 2023).
Household utility bills in Washington
These are typical monthly bills for all household types in Washington, not an apartment quote. The rent calculator uses a smaller apartment estimate for electricity, gas, water, sewer, and trash, plus the internet row. The all-household core of those housing bills is $441 a month.
| Bill | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Electricity | $122 |
| Natural gas | $90 |
| Water | $80 |
| Sewer | $85 |
| Trash | $64 |
| Internet | $66 |
Nearby and similar cities
In brightplace's rent affordability rankings, the Seattle metro is 32 of 218: a typical 1-bedroom with utilities takes 28% of the median renter household's income in Seattle.
Among 100 large cities ranked by income left after a typical 1-bedroom, Seattle is 3.
Questions about renting in Seattle
How much rent can I afford in Seattle, WA?
Keep rent, utilities, internet, and renters insurance within 30% of gross income. At Seattle's median household income of $123,860, that leaves about $2,832 a month for rent. A typical 1-bedroom in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro rents for about $1,790 as of August 2026, and the other costs add about $264, so it calls for about $82,160 a year.
What salary do you need to live in Seattle?
To keep a typical 1-bedroom within 30% of gross income in Seattle, you need about $82,160 a year: $1,790 in rent plus about $264 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. A 2-bedroom at the metro median of $2,049 needs about $95,920. The median renter household in Seattle earns $88,103 a year, per Census estimates for 2020–2024.
How much rent can I afford on $60,000 a year in Seattle?
On $60,000 a year, the 30% rule allows $1,500 a month for housing. After about $264 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance, that leaves about $1,236 for rent, $554 less than the $1,790 typical 1-bedroom in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro. A single filer in Washington takes home about $4,199 a month after estimated federal income tax and FICA. This is an estimate, not tax advice.
What income do landlords require in Seattle?
Many landlords in Washington screen for gross annual income of about 36 times the monthly rent, the same as three times the rent each month. For a $1,790 1-bedroom, that is about $64,440 a year. Requirements vary by building, so check the listing before paying an application fee.
What is the average rent in Seattle?
In the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro, which includes Seattle, WA, estimated median rent as of August 2026 is $2,020 overall, $1,790 for a 1-bedroom, $2,049 for a 2-bedroom. Overall rent is -1.2% from a year earlier. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 median gross rent in Seattle, which counts utilities and leases signed years ago, is $2,030 a month.
How much are utilities for an apartment in Seattle?
A 1-bedroom apartment in Seattle, WA is estimated at about $184 a month for electricity, gas, and water, before internet. That scales a national apartment baseline by the local household utility median of $493. Actual bills depend on the building, what the lease includes, and how much you use.
Methodology and sources
Updated . Max rent is 30% of gross monthly income minus estimated utilities, internet, renters insurance, and any fees you enter. If you enter other bills, max rent also keeps housing plus those bills within 36% of gross income, a debt-to-income ratio lenders generally consider good. Federal tax uses 2026 brackets and the standard deduction. State tax uses 2025 single-filer brackets on gross income; married thresholds are doubled. FICA includes Social Security up to the 2026 wage base and Additional Medicare Tax. None of this is tax, legal, or housing advice. Read the financial disclosure.
- Apartment List Rent Estimates, August 2026 release
- IRS tax year 2026 brackets and standard deduction, including One Big Beautiful Bill adjustments
- Tax Foundation, 2025 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets
- Insurance Information Institute and NAIC, 2025 homeowners and renters insurance data
- doxoINSIGHTS 2025 U.S. Utilities Market Size and Household Spending Report
- brightplace apartment utility reference (national baselines by unit size)
- HUD cost-burden thresholds and common landlord income screens
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (ACSBR-025)
- Compiled from public utility cost surveys and bill-pay data, 2025
- Compiled from publicly available income, tax, and rental market data, January 2025
- Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, State of the Nation's Housing 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (tables B19013, B25003, B25031, B25064, B25070, and B25119)