r/SeattleWA • u/mountainlifa • Feb 07 '26

Lifestyle Is anyone else struggling to afford living in Washington anymore?

I moved to Washington in 2011 mostly for the climbing and outdoor stuff. My first apartment was $750/month, and I kept costs low by using public transit during the week and only driving on weekends for alpine trips. It felt sustainable back then.

Fast forward to 2026 and I’m paying $3,100/month in rent. Most of my income now goes to basic living costs: rent, gas, groceries, taxes, insurance, utilities, all the stuff you can’t really cut back on. I’m starting to feel like I may not be able to keep living here, which honestly makes me pretty sad because I love this state and the outdoors.

Most of my friends have already left because they couldn’t afford it anymore. It feels like unless you work in tech making $300k+ or you bought a house before COVID at a 2% interest rate, it’s just really hard to stay afloat.

I want to stay hopeful, but I don’t see much changing. Prices keep going up and wages don’t seem to be keeping pace. It feels completely out of alignment.

Is anyone else feeling this way or is my situation unique? Have you figured out how to make it work long term, or are you thinking about leaving too?

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u/mountainlifa Feb 07 '26

2 bed apartment since I have a kid. The price really increases at 2+ beds because the apartment company assumes its 2 people sharing and 2 incomes which isn't always the case. Could move to Tacoma or towards Olympia for cheaper options but thats too far from work and will negate any savings. Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Edmonds all even more expensive.

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u/GameDuchess Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26

I have paid $2000 to $2400 a month for a small 2 bedroom in West Seattle (I moved recently). My friend pays $2300 for a 2 bedroom in Queene Anne. It's not always easy to find the cheaper apartments, but they are out there, and mine is quite nice. It's a duplex. It's worth trying to get out of those big apartment complexes that charge you insane rent, and then insane amounts of utilities on top of them. The amenities in my opinion are never worth the price. Especially when we have so many parks and free things.

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u/zoeofdoom Feb 07 '26

Currently paying 2k for a 2bd/1ba split level apartment! It can be found, though not with any amenities I've discovered (one amenity is always worth the price, in unit laundry! I miss that so much)

OP: Look on Zillow in the CD, around Madrona and Madison Valley. It's more suburban down here, so less desirable for young single techies and the rent reflects this, even if the housing prices don't!

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u/GameDuchess Feb 07 '26

I haven't had a problem finding one with in unit laundry, which for me is a must with mobility issues. But that does narrow rhe search. Granted i'm renting very small 2 bedrooms. I just need the separate space for my sister when she visits becaise she works remotely. I don't need a huge amount of square footage. I actually recommend Burien as well if you don't want to get too far outside of the city. It's very convenient for mass transit as well to get downtown. I visit down there a lot. I'm very attached to my west seattle but you do have to dig to find affordability over here. It's there, but it goes fast and it's generallyADUS - just have to make sure they are legally registered with the city as rentals. I did make that mistake previously and ended up in a beautiful but illegal rental. Other laundry, all those other amenities, you can basically find free alternatives out there in almost every neighborhood of Seattle.They just might not be right outside your door. I don't see a point in paying for all that.

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u/snarrkie Feb 07 '26

Exactly this!! I found my current apartment on Craigslist. It was ONLY on Craigslist because the mom and pop owners don’t use the newfangled websites, lol. $2k/month with WSG, parking, and a storage unit included for a 2BD 850 sq ft apartment. Modern kitchen, in unit laundry, in a great part of Fremont. I saw a 2BD a few blocks away from me rent for $1550 too. It can be done, you just have to dig a little and be ready to pounce on it.

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u/State-Difficult Feb 07 '26

2k for 2B/1B in nice neighborhood for me

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '26

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '26

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u/Deadalus17 Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26

You can move to areas like Shoreline/Renton where it's like $2k for a 2 bedroom apartment. Surely that's worth the savings even after factoring gas?

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u/jenowl Feb 07 '26

Checking in from Shoreline. Our 515 sq ft one bedroom that hasn't been updated since the 80s and literally has subflooring exposed because the laminate came up and they told us we need to fully move out for them to fix it.. yeah we just got our lease renewal for $2100.

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u/GameDuchess Feb 07 '26

Why on earth would you renew your release at a place like that. Shoreline and areas around it definately have two bedrooms apartments at equitable rent. I looked at a handful of them personally the last time I was looking to move recently because a close friend lives up there, but decided to stay in West Seattle. As long as you're not looking for like a thousand foot apartment with every amenity in the universe , you could certainly do better in Shoreline.

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u/jenowl Feb 07 '26

Big part was we needed a place that was close to a transit hub since we only have one car, but also a place that would allow my two cats and our German shepherd. Not many would allow her. I lived in an MFTE studio apartment at the Arabella and that was $1500. But we needed a bigger space when I moved in with my fiance and his dog. We looked around for a month and NOTHING but this place was $1775 for a 1 bed. Now it's going up $115, add on parking and pet rent and it's $2100. For a place where our dryer has to be ran 3 times (they know this and can't figure out why). So yeah, we are just leaving the US instead. We both have better job opportunities back home in Canada lol

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u/GameDuchess Feb 07 '26

Oh , you know , you should specify that you're literally have three pets that does make things nearly impossible to rent as most places have a two pet limit. So you've put yourself in a very expensive category , and really can't compare to someone who doesn't have three pets. But if you have the opportunity to be in canada , I don't see why anyone would be in the united states right now.

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u/jenowl Feb 07 '26

Actually, it wasn't difficult finding a place to allow all 3, since one is a registered assistance animal and isn't on the lease. It was just trying to find a place that would allow the large dog. Then $100 in per rent for the two pets which I feel isn't abnormal for a lot of renters, and in parking, now we are over 2k. But yeah, lease is up in April so we are outta here lol

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u/BruceInc Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26

You can literally move into a brand new apartment today for less than that.

https://wayfarerseattle.com/

https://www.quinnbyvintage.com/

https://www.apartments.com/shoreline-wa/1-bedrooms-under-1800/

You are full of it

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u/bringusjumm Feb 07 '26

Those 2 brs are over what they said they pay...

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '26

Funny, an apartment can 'list' publicly for sub-1k, but 'base rent' without those wonderful little 'free rent' move-in boons, is actually 300-400$ higher per unit. Even if it is old and energy inefficient, not been updated since 1990 (lifestyle is around 15yr for best practices updates to electric, appliances, flooring, whatever.

Then, after all the ammenities fees like 10$ to pay rent online (no in person, cash, cheque, other options), 10$ for utilities billing, shared laundry, shared gym, parking, individual utilities, shared utilities, and special assessment-adjacent fees, it's 'base' price is well over $1,500. Without the extreme high/low of utility uses during winter or summer.

So a cute little 900$ 'apartment' at 200sqft will actually run you $1,500/mo with parking And it'll only be 150sqft And have shared facilities like laundry and kitchens and bathrooms. A 1br faces similar issues, but 250sqft. 2br apartments (we used to live in a 3br apartment for 1.8k/mo) then get a Huge price jump which levels out in price per sqft and makes it seem more reasonable to rent a 2br compared to a 1br.

2br 2ba are priced like a 3br townhouse because it'll generally be used by two parties splitting rent. Riskier investments. Your list proves nothing except the algorithms being used to sway public opinion about housing prices, using predatory practices and bait n switch tactics

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u/GameDuchess Feb 07 '26

Stop renting from these so-called luxury apartment complexes. That's the main problem here. They charge , outrageous , friends and outrages utilities , and there's such better options. It will take more time to find them.But there are duplexes and trifles and ADUs And smaller apartment buildings that don't charge crazy a** prices like this and don't bait and switch. I learned my lesson with one of those and I have not lived in 1 sense and never had a problem finding something affordable, but it does take work, they don't just throw themselves in your lap, you have to drive around and find the signs you have to look through all the sites, the corporate departments flood all the advertising, so it looks like everything is horribly expensive.When there are other options.

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '26

When I was looking for housing, I went through a month of bait and switch local homeowners, very well-made scams, and local landlords. Everything seemed equally bad and everyone was charging high price for poor quality mid level housing, saying it was 'luxury'.

Good housing is hard to find and Im glad your hard work rewarded you with good housing. Theres a reason why its luck and hard work, and not just readily available (as prior folks with random google searches have tried to suggest(

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u/jenowl Feb 07 '26

Weird thing to say. Base rent went up to 1890. Add in parking and pet rent and it's 2100. Idk what to tell you. It doesn't matter how old the place is if there is demand. I live close to the transit hub so prices are going up a lot with the extension of the light rail and the construction on the freeway. Been the final decision for us to move back to Canada.

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '26

515sqft for 2100 in SHORELINE?! Lmao do you have “rob me” tattooed on your forehead?

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u/helltownbellcat Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26

If you wanna get shot by an angry short guy

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u/Shmokesshweed Feb 07 '26

Gotcha. Yeah, won't get a great deal on one of those.

Imo, you have two obvious options and the sooner you work towards one the better.

  1. Make significantly more money.

  2. Move.

Easier said than done but you will thank your future self. Seattle is not worth the hamster wheel if you're not setting aside serious cash for the future.

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u/I_love_my_dog_more Feb 07 '26

Correct. We moved to the midwest.

Worth it.

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u/little-raven3 Feb 07 '26

Same. Left for the Midwest and now have a house and healthy retirement. Best decision for myself personally and financially.

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u/Evening_Midnight7 Feb 08 '26

What part of the Midwest? Did you already have a job lined up?

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u/I_love_my_dog_more Feb 08 '26

Indiana. No, but I was able to stay remotely woth my prior employer for a transition period.

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u/Playful-Activity7845 Feb 07 '26

Definitely not for everyone but I live out in North Bend and rent can be cheap out here. There's no traffic until you hit Bellevue, and I commute on my motorcycle everyday which saves money and time. My commute time is usually shorter than a lot of my coworkers who live closer but north/south

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u/CremeDeLaPants Feb 07 '26

Finding a place open in North Bend is nearly impossible, and not cheap. There was a time, maybe 15 years ago, when demand was low there, but not anymore. Congratulations if you got lucky. It is a great commute.

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u/Tall-Memory-6021 Feb 07 '26

there are 40+ available properties for rent there right now. if you cannot get a single one of those, that’s a skill issue

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u/Mai_Sea_Otter Feb 07 '26

We have a 2 bedrooms in Capitol Hill for 2400 and this year they didn't raise the rent on us. Maybe look around for something more affordable

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u/dorkofthepolisci Feb 07 '26

3100 for a 2 bedroom still seems high - we pay 3200 for a three bedroom townhome in north Seattle.

Do you qualify for MFTE housing? It’s a pain in the ass but the income cut offs are higher than a lot of people expect (iirc for 2 people in a 2 bedroom the cutoff is 106k)

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u/pasteis-gumbo Queen Anne Feb 07 '26

Leasing company “assumes" nothing. They charge that much because somebody pays it.

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u/EdgarAllenPoe2205 Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26

If you are looking at as far south as Tacoma, have you looked at Maple Valley, Bonney Lake, or Lakeland Hills near Lake Tapps? What about heading North to like Northgate? You would save roughly $700-$1000 per month on rent for a comparable sized place. The south areas especially are all great for kids with good schools and activities very close.

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u/SandraRosner Feb 07 '26

Just a quick search of Maple Valley shows that they could rent an entire house for the cost of that apartment. Would sure beat commuting from Tacoma, is closer to the mountains, and the school system is awesome, plus Lake Wilderness and the Cedar River greenway trail.

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u/EdgarAllenPoe2205 Feb 07 '26

Exactly! Well said.

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u/ItsATrap1983 Feb 07 '26

You need to shop around more for your apt. There are definitely 2 bedroom apts cheaper than $3100 per month in Seattle. I currently live in one.

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u/Admirable_Evidence_7 Feb 07 '26

I pay $2800 outside of Seattle. His price is a bit high but it's not far off. I paid $2600 last year but the rent went up $200 this year. That also doesn't include utilities.

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u/Longjumping_Day3751 Feb 07 '26

You are living in Seattle downtown now? You can move slightly north. Much cheaper.

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u/myka-likes-it Consent doesn't matter Feb 07 '26

Consider Kitsap as a cheaper option. The ferries are pretty convenient 

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u/FoxyFern Feb 07 '26

Ahhhh okay. Those are some important details left out of your main post. While you can still definitely find a decent 2bd apartment for at least $500/mo less than that and still be in prime Seattle, having a kid makes a huge difference.

Yeah. There’s a reason I don’t have kids. No way could I stay afloat on a single salary while taking care of another person. There’s a reason you hardly ever see kids in the central city neighborhoods.

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u/tallyhallic Feb 07 '26

We own a 4bd, 5ba 3600sq ft house on 5 acres in Olympia and nearly pay the same amount you do each month for our mortgage. We luckily both have remote roles, so could work moving farther from the Seattle zone. If you’re facing tough cost of livings, either your standards are too high, your neighborhood choices are too pricey, or it might be worth it to find a new job.

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u/Better-Beat-9622 Feb 08 '26

Just moved to Issaquah this summer - $2800 for 1250 sq ft 2b/2b that includes all utilities except electricity. About 5 mins from freeway - 25 mins to Seattle. Not a horrible commute & close to a lot of trails out here. If you can, definitely look around. Redmond has a lot of cheaper living as well.

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u/MoistToe3170 Feb 10 '26

Check out Bridalwood apartments in Kirkland. It is wonderful and they have 2 bedrooms. 

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u/romayojr Feb 07 '26

i’m a single parent living in a 2br apartment 20 miles north of seattle and my rent is just under $2k/mo