It’s no secret that Seattle is an expensive place to live and rent. And while rent prices fluctuated during the pandemic, things are starting to return to the Seattle norm. In fact, rent prices are actually up 16% in comparison to the same time last year. Let’s take a look at the details.

Apartment List just released its May 2022 Seattle Rent Report and local rents have increased 0.9% over the past month alone. Right now, median rents in Seattle sit at $1,698 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,117 for a two-bedroom. It’s the third month in a row that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in January.

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seattle rent
Photo via Apartment List

What’s more “Seattle’s year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 16.4%, as well as the national average of 16.3%.”

So what does that mean for somewhat affordable places to rent? Well, it looks like Lakewood is your best bet these days. The city is a bit further south of Tacoma and had “a two-bedroom median of $1,562” … “rents were up 1.1% over the past month and 10.9% over the past year.” Compare this to Bellevue which “has the most expensive rents in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,654” a “rent growth of 21.5% over the past year.” Yikes!

To stay in Seattle or move, that is the question and we’ll leave it up to you. Have a great week!