Tacoma's median rent for a two-bedroom apartment matches D.C.'s

TACOMA, Wash. — The latest apartment rent data are in, and they show the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Tacoma is the same as in Washington, D.C.

According to new data from website apartmentlist.com, Tacoma rents increased 1.6 percent compared with the same period last year. Median rents for a one-bedroom now are at $1,250, while median two-bedroom rents are at $1,560, according to the report.

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For perspective, that’s the same median rent for a two-bedroom in the nation’s capital, according to the report.

“This is the third straight month that (Tacoma) has seen rent increases after a decline in June,” according to the report, and the city’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1 percent, and the national average of 0.9 percent.

A sampling of other city’s rates listed in the report for median two-bedroom rents:

▪ San Francisco: $3,110

▪ New York: $2,510

▪ Los Angeles: $1,760

▪ Olympia: $1,270

▪ Phoenix: $1,050

▪ Spokane: $900

▪ National average: $1,180.

Other highlights of the report:

Rents are rising faster in Kent than Tacoma and pretty much anywhere among the surrounding Seattle metro areas measured.

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“Kent has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 3.5 percent,” according to the report. Conversely, the report says that over the past year: “Seattle proper has seen the biggest rent drop in the metro, with a decline of 1.6 percent.”

Specifically, Kent’s median one-bedroom units are going for $1,450 and two-bedrooms are at $1,810. That’s more than what apartmentlist.com lists for a median one-bedroom apartment in Seattle at $1,350 and median two-bedrooms at $1,680.

Auburn, Lakewood and Federal Way aren’t far behind Kent in rent rate growth. Auburn has seen a 3.1 percent year-over-year price change, Lakewood 3 percent and Federal Way 2.1 percent.

Bellevue still offers sticker shock for renters as the most expensive of the larger metros outside of Seattle. Median two-bedroom apartments now are at $2,370 ($1,900 for median one-bedroom).

Lakewood, despite its year-over-year price growth, remains the least expensive in the surrounding metros outside of Seattle. The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,430 ($1,150 is the median for a one-bedroom).

This new rental report underlines a key point of Tacoma’s Affordable Housing Action Strategy, released last week.

“Today, nearly 33,000 households in Tacoma pay at least 30 percent of their income on housing costs each month,” the report to the city said, “reducing their ability to pay for other necessities. ...No one living in Tacoma should have to choose between paying their rent or mortgage and other necessities.”

KIRO