Here’s how much it costs to rent in Seattle right now

New year, new rent averages! January is looking like a great month for renters as the average rent in Seattle is steadily going down. That’s right, for once this expensive city seems to be getting at least somewhat more reasonable. Here’s a look at how much it costs to rent in Seattle right now.

Apartment List has released its Seattle rent report for 2023 and while still expensive, the numbers are better.

Apartment List found that the median rent in Seattle fell by 2.8% throughout December, and has now decreased by a total of 0.9% over the past 12 months. What’s more, Seattle’s rent growth over the past year has actually fallen behind both the state (1.9%) and national averages (4.0%).

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It’s also worth noting that Seattle’s rent growth in 2022 is pacing below the same time in 2021. For comparison, rents increased by 24.2% from January to December 2021. Twelve months into 2022, rents in Seattle have fallen 0.3%. Oh, how the times are changing.

This slowdown in growth has Seattle sitting all the way in 96th place for rent growth among major US cities. But we are still in 30th place when it comes to the most expensive large cities in the US with a median rent of $1,668.

So where is the best place to live in the Seattle area right now? Seattle rents are 3.2% lower than the metro-wide median. Lakewood is currently the metro’s most affordable city, with a median rent of $1,354. Mercer Island is currently the most expensive, with a median rent of $2,323.

If you live in Auburn (7.8%)  it happens to be the city with the metro’s fastest annual rent growth at (7.8%) and while being expensive, Mercer Island is pretty dang slow at (-2.1%).