118 Apartments for rent in Tacoma, WA
📍Average Rent in Tacoma
Greetings, future tenants of Tacoma! With a variety of affordable rental options, Tacoma is an attractive residential destination for budget-minded leasers, so we get the feeling it won’t take long to find your dream dwellings. So what do you say? Are you ready to fulfill your fate and find a place to call your own in the “City of Destiny?” Then stick with us, because your super sweet Tacoma digs may be just a few clicks away …
Outsiders often mistake Tacoma as nothing but an overblown extension of Seattle, when in fact it’s a separate city (30 miles south) with a distinct vibe, culture, and commerce. In fact, roughly half of all Tacoma workers both live and work within city limits, so Tacoma isn’t nearly as dependent on Seattle as many think. If you want a more cosmopolitan, big-city ambiance, Seattle remains your best bet, but Tacoma (especially the artsy, rejuvenated downtown area) has some chic, happening ‘hoods as well. Tacoma is also the more economic choice: apartments in “Grit City” average a mere $900 a month, while lucky leasers can often find quality rentals in the $600-$700 range.
Yes, we are officially out of nicknames for Tacoma now. We aren’t, however, out of advice to help make your migration to the Pacific Northwest silky-smooth. Some things to consider before joining the ranks of Washington’s finest:
Pump it up. Especially if you live downtown, there’s a good chance you can rely on the Tacoma LINK trains or the Pierce Transit buses to bum around town. Anywhere else, though, you’ll likely need your own set of wheels to shop, bank, work, and socialize conveniently. Residents who commute to Seattle for work each morning, however, can take advantage of the Sound Transit commuter rail.
Raindrops keep falling on my head. Well, what did you expect when you moved to the Pacific Northwest? About half the time it’s raining in Tacoma, and especially from early fall through late spring, the skies are almost always overcast. On the bright side (bad pun intended), a steady dose of gray skies helps you appreciate those magically sunny summer afternoons even more.
Night and Day. Although the city’s nightlife pales in comparison to that of Seattle, Tacoma has a healthy smattering of after-hours hotspots, live music venues, lounges, nightclubs, beer dives, and upscale bistros. Point Defiance Park, meanwhile, is the city’s top outdoor destination and boasts numerous trails, gardens, museums, a zoo, aquarium, and playground. The park is also home to Owen Beach, a popular fair-weather hangout (our advice: catch some rays while you can before Mr. Rain rears his gloomy head again!)
Because Tacoma, unlike Seattle and nearby capital city Olympia, isn’t exactly a hub for nomadic, temporary leasers, apartments don’t turn over all that often. However, new condos, lofts, and high rises continue to sprout up in areas like downtown, the Stadium District, and Old Town, and most rental properties aren’t at full capacity anyway. So you shouldn’t encounter many roadblocks on your search for the perfect pad.
Know the basics. Standards for renting aren’t much different in Tacoma than they are anywhere else. You’ll need proper identification (wow, aren’t we wise and helpful!), proof of income, and a reputable renting history to score a lease at most apartments. Also, more and more property managers in Tacoma are now doing full-scale credit and criminal background checks on prospective leasers (at your expense usually).
Beware the hard sell. The “hard sell” is usually a surefire sign that something is wrong with the apartment. There are plenty of reputable property managers, staff, and apartment complexes in Tacoma, so stick with them.
Inspect your new digs carefully. Chances are staff members will provide you with a checklist to fill out when you move in, which gives you the chance to inspect your new place carefully, note any blemishes (even the most minor ones), and request whatever fix-ups you deem necessary. Don’t blow this off, because it’s generally easiest to get maintenance on the scene before you’ve become an official resident. Make sure the water pressure and temperature is agreeable, the appliances function, the windows and doors lock and unlock properly, and the walls, paint, floors, and ceilings appear in good shape. And bring a friend to give your new place the white glove treatment.
Different parts of Tacoma have drastically different perks and quirks, so spend some serious time in any neighborhood before deciding to call it your home. In general, the downtown area is home to the city’s most eclectic hotspots and also serves up a variety of lofts, condos, and high rise apartments. Similar to downtown, North Tacoma offers some of Tacoma’s most attractive (and pricey) units (usually in the $1200-plus range). The Stadium District and Old Town in North Tacoma are some of the city’s most walker-friendly neighborhoods, meanwhile, and boast some of Tacoma’s newest crash pads. West Tacoma is largely populated by property owners, but lucky leasers can sometimes find high quality waterfront digs and spacious single family homes for rent (usually for $1500 or more). East Tacoma, on the other hand, is dotted with cheap, available rental properties (often for $600 or less).
And now you’re all set to embark on your apartment finding escapades. So welcome to the City of Destiny, and happy hunting!
December 2019 Tacoma Rent Report
Welcome to the December 2019 Tacoma Rent Report. Tacoma rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Tacoma rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.
December 2019 Tacoma Rent Report
Welcome to the December 2019 Tacoma Rent Report. Tacoma rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Tacoma rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.
Tacoma rents increased over the past month
Tacoma rents have remained flat over the past month, however, they are up slightly by 1.0% year-over-year. Currently, median rents in Tacoma stand at $1,256 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,564 for a two-bedroom. Tacoma's year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 1.8%, as well as the national average of 1.4%.
Rents rising across the Seattle Metro
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Tacoma, but across the entire metro. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in the Seattle metro, all of them have seen prices rise. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.
- Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,503; the city has also experienced the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 4.2%.
- Bellevue has the most expensive rents in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,399; however, the city has also seen rents fall by 0.8% over the past month, the biggest drop in the metro.
Many large cities nationwide show more affordable rents compared to Tacoma
As rents have increased marginally in Tacoma, a few large cities nationwide have also seen rents grow modestly. Compared to most large cities across the country, Tacoma is less affordable for renters.
- Rents increased moderately in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 1.8% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 2.3% in Spokane and 1.9% in Vancouver.
- Tacoma's median two-bedroom rent of $1,564 is above the national average of $1,191. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.4% over the past year compared to the 1.0% rise in Tacoma.
- While Tacoma's rents rose marginally over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+3.9%), Austin (+3.1%), and Boston (+1.9%).
- Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Tacoma than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median 2BR rent of $904, where Tacoma is more than one-and-a-half times that price.
For more information check out our national report. You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at this link.
Methodology - Recent Updates:
Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.
Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.
Methodology:
Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.
Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.
Read more about our methodology here.
About Rent Reports:
Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.
We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.
Renter Confidence Survey
Apartment List has released Tacoma’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters nationwide, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the country’s 111 million renters.
"Tacoma renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. ...
Here’s how Tacoma ranks on:
Apartment List has released Tacoma’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters nationwide, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the country’s 111 million renters.
"Tacoma renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "They gave most categories average scores."
Key Findings in Tacoma include the following:
- Tacoma renters gave their city a C+ overall.
- The highest-rated categories for Tacoma were public transit and commute time, which received A- and B grades, respectively.
- The areas of concern to Tacoma renters are pet-friendliness (D), weather (C) and recreational activities (C).
- Tacoma earned similar scores compared to other cities in Washington like Spokane (C+) and Vancouver (D), but earned lower marks than Seattle (B+), Bellevue (A+) and Renton (A+).
- Tacoma did relatively poorly compared to cities nationwide, including Houston (B+), Chicago (B-) and Raleigh (A).
- The top rated cities nationwide for renter satisfaction include Scottsdale, AZ, Irvine, CA, Boulder, CO and Ann Arbor, MI. The lowest rated cities include Tallahassee, FL, Stockton, CA, Dayton, OH, Detroit, MI and Newark, NJ.
For more information on the survey methodology and findings or to speak to one of our researchers, please contact our team at rentonomics@apartmentlist.com.