Report: Seattle ranks 3rd most expensive city to rent in the metro area

Can you guess which Seattle-area city is the most expensive to rent in? 

A recent report from Zumper analyzed active listing across 10 metro cities in December to show the most and least expensive cities and the cities with the fastest growing rents. 

The report found that in Washington state one bedroom median rent was $1,426 last month. 

Most expensive city 

Redmond came in first for most expensive city in the Seattle metro area, with one bedrooms priced at $2,050. Bellevue, only barely behind in second place, came in at $2,020 per month for a one bedroom.

In Seattle, the city saw rent drop last month. The average monthly rental rate in Seattle for a one bedroom in December was $1,730. This is down 1.7% from November, putting Seattle in third for most expensive rent in the metro area.

Renton came in fourth, with an average one-bedroom rent of $1,690, and Kent took the fifth spot. Closing the gap between Redmond and the state's average, Kent's average monthly rental rate for a one bedroom was $1,540 in December.

Least expensive city 

Looking at the least expensive cities, Bellingham, which reported an average rent of $1,180 per month for a one bedroom, was well below the state's median. This made it the most affordable city in the December report. 

Everett came in second to least expensive, with an average one-bedroom rent of $1,270 in December. Olympia, with an average of $1,290 per month for a one bedroom, took the eighth spot, while Lakewood landed in the middle, at $1,330 per month, and Tacoma hit the state average and took the sixth spot.

The city with the fastest growing yearly rent

While Seattle's rent decreased from November to December, the Emerald City was found to have the fastest-growing yearly rent, up 15.3% from December 2020.

Kent also saw a similar increase, up 14.9% from last year, and Redmond saw a dramatic growth of 11.4% from 2020.

Bellingham, while remaining the cheapest city in Western Washington in December, did see a rent rise of 6% from last year. The only city that saw smaller growth was Everett, up only 2%.

And believe it or not, one city's annual rent average actually dropped. In Olympia, the yearly rental rate dropped by 2%. Renton was the only city in the report that didn't see an increase or decrease, and reported a 0% change.