Cost of Living in Seattle, WA (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated October 2026. Rent figures reflect September 2026 estimates from Apartment List's October report.

According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Seattle's median rent is $2,088, down 2.78% from a year earlier. A median one-bedroom costs $1,948, and a two-bedroom costs $2,432. Seattle's median rent is the 16th-highest among the 100 largest U.S. cities, essentially tied with Los Angeles and $700 above the national median.

A renter living alone in a median one-bedroom should plan on about $2,343 to $2,392 a month for rent, electricity, and groceries, before water, sewer, and trash, transit, and a car. Rent is most of that total. Splitting a two-bedroom equally cuts the rent to $1,216 each, $732 less than a one-bedroom on your own, and that one choice moves the total more than any utility does.

Seattle Cost of Living at a Glance

Source for rent rows: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in Seattle in 2026?

A median one-bedroom in Seattle rents for $1,948 and a two-bedroom for $2,432, per the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. The all-sizes median is $2,088.

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average. The median is the market midpoint, so it's less swayed than an average by a handful of very expensive listings. Apartment List's methodology frames it as the median rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market, not only what's advertised right now.

Seattle's median rent fell 2.78% over the 12 months through September 2026, the 11th-largest decline among the 100 largest U.S. cities, and slipped 0.20% in September alone. A falling citywide median is a midpoint across the whole market, and it may not reach the listing you want, so choose your size first and compare current listings in the neighborhoods you're considering before you treat the decline as savings.

How Does Seattle Rent Compare With Metro and National Medians?

Seattle's two-bedroom median of $2,432 is about 19% above the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro's $2,042, the widest gap of the three sizes. On the all-sizes median the city is 3.7% above the metro, and on one-bedrooms 9.2%. The metro figure includes Seattle itself alongside Bellevue, Tacoma, Everett, and the surrounding communities, so read it as a regional benchmark rather than a measure of what any one suburb costs.

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. City-level medians at the same grain, not total-cost comparisons.

Within the metro, the Eastside cities run above Seattle: Apartment List's October 2026 report puts Kirkland at $2,460, Bellevue at $2,440, and Redmond at $2,287 on the all-sizes median. Renton is $2,059, Kent $1,722, Everett $1,706, and Tacoma $1,670. Those are citywide medians for each place, so compare listings for the same size before you count the difference as savings, and add the commute. The Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares Seattle with another city on after-tax income.

What Income Corresponds to Seattle Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Using the $1,948 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $77,920 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median between two renters. Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.

The 30% figure is the share of gross income the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable, and HUD counts utilities inside it where this table does not, so add the electricity figure above to get closer to a housing budget. Use gross income here; the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for take-home pay, so its answer will differ.

Treat these as planning benchmarks, not salary requirements or screening rules. Many renter budgets don't fit beneath 30%: Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, about 22.2 million, spent more than that on rent in 2024, a national figure rather than a Seattle one. Our guide to the 30% rule and how much to spend on rent walks through when to flex it.

Washington has no state income tax, so a $77,920 salary here isn't reduced by a state wage tax the way the same salary would be in a state that levies one. Washington offsets that with a higher sales tax.

How Do You Know if You Can Afford a Seattle Apartment?

Run the same math on the listing's rent rather than the city median. Divide the advertised rent, or your share of a split or a rented room, by 0.30 and multiply by 12 to see the income it implies. Then add electricity, transit or a car, and the other costs your household carries, ask what rent includes and how any shared bills are divided, and compare that fuller estimate against your income, debts, and savings goals before applying. If you'll share rent, confirm how the property weighs co-applicants, since qualification rules vary. The Rent Calculator runs it against your actual income, and our guide to finding an apartment in your budget walks through the rest.

What Should You Budget for Beyond Rent in Seattle?

Price the costs that apply to you, then confirm which charges the building bills separately. Planning to drive? Price parking, insurance, fuel, and your commute, since those vary too much from one household to the next to estimate here.

How Much Does Electricity Cost in Seattle?

At 400 kWh over 30 days, Seattle City Light's current residential rates produce a $65.36 example before taxes and other line items. The in-city flat rate is a $0.3945 daily base charge plus $0.1338 per kilowatt-hour, and your usage sets the total. Whether the apartment heats with gas or electricity changes the winter bill most: at 800 kWh, twice the example, the same rates produce about $119. Ask what powers the heat and whether the property can share usage for a similar unit. Seattle City Light is a public utility, so there's no plan to shop; its rates rose about 5.4% on January 1, 2026, and the 2027 schedule is set by the City Council.

How Much Are Water, Sewer, and Trash Bills in Seattle?

There is no single renter estimate, because buildings charge for water, sewer, and trash in different ways: some fold them into rent, some bill you directly, and some divide one building bill across units. Ask each landlord which applies, how any shared bill is split, and what comparable apartments paid recently. Seattle Public Utilities sets the underlying rates, but its published residential rates reach your bill only when your unit has its own account.

How Much Is Public Transit in Seattle?

An adult ORCA fare is $3.00 on both King County Metro buses and Sound Transit Link light rail, with free transfers between them for two hours. A $3.00 regional monthly pass costs $108, which is 36 rides, so buy the pass if you expect more than about 36 paid trips a month and pay per ride below that. Riders who qualify for ORCA LIFT pay $1.00 a ride or $36 for the monthly pass, so check eligibility before choosing. Link runs from Lynnwood through downtown to Federal Way and across the lake to Redmond, so whether transit replaces a car depends on where you land relative to a station.

How Much Should You Budget for Groceries in Seattle?

The national USDA Low-Cost plan puts groceries for one adult at about $330 to $379 a month, as of the May 2026 report. That's a national benchmark for food you cook at home, not a Seattle price, so treat it as a starting point and adjust for your household and how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Seattle Budgets Compare?

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. The shared column splits one two-bedroom and one electric bill between two renters and uses the USDA two-adult grocery plan. Water, sewer, trash, transit, a car, and other costs are excluded; see the appendix.

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs about $732 a month less per renter in rent than a one-bedroom on your own, roughly $8,784 a year, and $769 to $818 less once you count the shared power bill. The $484 step from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom is about 24.8% here, wider than the 19.5% typical across the 50 largest U.S. cities (Apartment List, October 2026 report). A second bedroom costs relatively more to add in Seattle than in most large cities, so the savings from sharing come from Seattle's high rents rather than from a cheap second bedroom.

What Should You Check Before Applying for a Seattle Apartment?

An application fee is an up-front, usually non-refundable charge for screening your application, separate from the refundable security deposit and from any one-time move-in fee, so run the numbers before you pay one. Add up the listing's rent and its required recurring charges, confirm what rent includes and how shared bills are calculated, and ask what powers the heat. If childcare applies to you, price it early, since provider quotes near the neighborhoods you're considering can change which unit size works; Washington's Child Care Check lists licensed providers and Working Connections Child Care shows whether you qualify for help paying for care. The estimate you build from a listing's rent and its charges is specific to that one apartment, not a citywide total, and it is the number that should drive the decision.

The citywide median is a starting point, not your ceiling. The best Seattle neighborhoods guide covers lifestyle fit, the safest Seattle neighborhoods guide adds published safety data to the same search, and our moving to Seattle guide covers the rest of the move. Then browse Seattle apartments and run the check on real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Rent figures come from the Apartment List Rent Estimates, October 2026 release, with data as of September 2026, built on the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology, a same-unit, repeat-transaction analysis.

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

The $2,343 to $2,392 monthly planning total combines the median one-bedroom rent with the electricity and grocery estimates from the At-a-Glance table. Electricity uses the 400 kWh example at Seattle City Light's in-city flat rate, before taxes, which assumes gas heat or a mild month; an apartment with electric heat can run about $119 in winter at 800 kWh, which would raise the total by about $54. The total excludes water, sewer, trash, transit, a car, internet, insurance, parking, and anything discretionary.

Frequently Asked Questions About Seattle Rent and Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Seattle?

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average. The median is less affected by unusually expensive listings that can pull an average upward. The one-bedroom median is $1,948 and the two-bedroom median is $2,432, for an all-sizes median of $2,088 as of September 2026.

Is Living in Seattle Expensive?

Seattle rent runs well above the national median. The all-sizes median is $2,088 as of September 2026, against a national median of $1,388, and Seattle has the 16th-highest median rent among the 100 largest U.S. cities. Rent is the largest fixed cost, and electricity, transit, and groceries add to it. Whether it's expensive for you depends on your income and which costs your building bills separately.

Is Seattle Affordable for Renters?

It depends on your income and the size you need. Under a rent-only 30% benchmark, a $1,948 one-bedroom lines up with about $77,920 in annual gross income, and a $2,432 two-bedroom with about $97,280. This is a planning benchmark, not an approval standard, and it doesn't include utilities and other living costs. Splitting a two-bedroom brings the per-renter figure down to $1,216, or about $48,640 in annual gross income.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Seattle?

Seattle does not have one required renter salary. Using the $1,948 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $77,920 in annual gross income, and the $2,432 two-bedroom to about $97,280, within the 30% of gross income HUD treats as affordable. Properties set their own qualification rules, and separately paid costs also affect what works for your budget.

How Much Are Utilities in Seattle?

It varies by building and by what powers the heat. At 400 kWh a month, Seattle City Light charges total about $65 before taxes and other line items; an apartment with electric heat can use twice that in winter, about $119. Water, sewer, and trash may be included in rent or billed separately, so confirm with each building what rent covers.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It's a planning benchmark, not a rule or an approval standard. Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, about 22.2 million, spent more than 30% of income on rent in 2024, and 26.1% were severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on housing, based on 2024 ACS data. Those are national figures, not Seattle-specific. Use the 30% figure to see what a given rent leaves for everything else, then decide what fits.

How Do Solo and Shared Seattle Budgets Compare?

Using the medians from the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, a two-bedroom costs about $1,216 per renter if two people split the rent equally, against $1,948 for a one-bedroom on your own, a difference of roughly $732 a month before utilities and fees. With a 400 kWh electric bill and groceries added, a solo renter is looking at about $2,343 to $2,392 a month and each roommate at about $1,574, before water, transit, and fees. That $1,216 share corresponds to about $48,640 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.