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Rent v Buy

Rent vs Buy in Seattle, WA

Seattle is an expensive place to buy, with a median listing price of $780,000. At that level, small shifts in your mortgage rate or how long you stay swing the rent-vs-buy result by a lot.

Rent averages $1,850 a month, and against that Seattle's prices put the price-to-rent ratio on the high side. That usually favors renting on the monthly math until appreciation and time tip the balance. Because Washington levies no state income tax, the mortgage-interest and property-tax write-offs only help at the federal level here.

How Seattle compares

  • Homes in Seattle cost 76% more than the national median of $443,255.
  • Rent in Seattle runs 16% lower than the U.S. median of $2,200/mo.
  • Homes in Seattle cost 20% more than the Washington median of $648,500.

What the numbers say

At 0.85% on a $780,000 median home, property tax in Seattle works out to roughly $553 a month ($6,630 a year). It is the largest owning cost with no renting equivalent, so factor it in before you compare.

On the renting side, the figure to beat is $1,850 a month, or $22,200 a year. With appreciation near 7.5% a year, Seattle sits close to the long-run norm, so the calculator's conservative 3 to 3.5% anchor lines up with recent local experience.

For insurance we use the Washington average, $1,100 a year, until you can drop in an actual quote for a specific home.

What sets the rent-vs-buy math apart in Seattle

Seattle's price-to-rent ratio is about 35.1: the $780,000 median price divided by $1,850 a month in rent over a year. That is a high ratio, where renting frequently costs less each month and the buy case rests on a long hold plus price growth. That ratio is a useful shortcut, not the whole answer. It points to which side leads at the start, then the full calculation fills in the rest.

A high ratio means the monthly cost of owning in Seattle tends to sit above rent at first. Equity build and appreciation slowly turn that around, which makes your expected length of stay the deciding factor.

A handful of Seattle particulars matter once you look past the ratio alone. Washington State has no personal or corporate income tax. Source. Information employment in the Seattle metro was 131,200 in May 2026. Source.

Want the calculator pre-filled with Seattle numbers? Open it below and the metro defaults load automatically.
Open with Seattle defaults

Home Purchase

Enter details about the home you're considering buying

Quick fill:
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Renting

Enter details about your rental alternative

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Time Horizon & Market

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Detailed mode adds 17 more inputs including advanced assumptions.

Buying is cheaper over 7 years

by $31,485

Buying comes out ahead, though the margin is meaningful only if you stay the full term and your assumptions hold roughly true.

High Confidence

The result is robust across small changes to your inputs.

Total cost of buying

$387,138

Average $4,609 per month over 7 years

Total cost of renting

$207,949

Average $2,476 per month over 7 years

Equity Built

$245,691

What you've paid down on the loan principal over 7 years.

Net Sale Proceeds

$211,339

What you'd walk away with after selling, minus closing costs.

Investment Growth

$65,204

What the down payment could grow to if invested instead of used to buy.

This chart shows total dollars spent on each path, month by month. With your inputs and time horizon, renting stays ahead the entire time.

Frequently Asked Questions

At $780,000, Seattle's median listing price is 76% above the national median of $443,255. Price alone only goes so far: the price-to-rent ratio of 35.1 shows whether that figure is steep or fair next to local rents.

On monthly cost alone, renting is usually cheaper in Seattle right now, because the price-to-rent ratio of 35.1 is on the high side. Buying tends to win only over a longer hold, once equity build and appreciation outweigh the higher monthly carrying cost. Run your own stay length in the calculator to see where the lines cross.

Property tax in Seattle runs an effective 0.85%. On the $780,000 median home that works out to about $553 a month, or $6,630 a year, stacked on top of principal, interest, and insurance. It is one of the larger fixed owning costs that renting sidesteps.

At a 28% housing-cost ratio, Seattle's $780,000 median home with 20% down at 7.0% over 30 years breaks down to about principal and interest $4,151, property tax $553, and insurance $92 a month, roughly $4,796 in all. That suggests gross household income near $205,528, with no PMI at 20% down. Use the affordability calculator for your own figures.

Seldom. A $780,000 home in Seattle carries about $31,200 in buy-side costs and $46,800 to sell, roughly 8 to 12% round-trip. Three years of price growth rarely makes that back, so for a short stay renting is generally the safer financial call, as in most U.S. markets.

By Barron Hansen, Founder · Last reviewed

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