How do Tacoma rents compare to national, state rates? New report shows where we rank
Tacoma is running ahead of state and national numbers when it comes to year-over-year rent increases, a new report shows.
But renters remain interested in looking for their next home online, as do people in other Western cities, including several in California.
Listings and data service Apartment List’s latest report, which features January’s rent figures, shows Tacoma’s median rent up 3 percent from January 2024 but up just 0.5 percent from December.
“Tacoma’s rent growth over the past year has outpaced both state (1.4%) and national (-0.5%) averages,” the report stated.
Among all large U.S. cities, Tacoma ranked No. 18 in January growth over December.
No. 1 was Fresno, California, with a 2.2% increase in January, while Winston-Salem, NC was at the bottom of the list, with a 1.6% drop in pricing.
Apartment List’s report noted that for Tacoma, “Citywide, the median rent currently stands at $1,395 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $1,742 for a 2-bedroom.”
It added, “Across all bedroom sizes (the entire rental market), the median rent is $1,633. That ranks #34 in the nation, among the country’s 100 largest cities.”
For comparison, it noted that “the median rent across the nation as a whole is $1,203 for a 1-bedroom, $1,356 for a 2-bedroom, and $1,370 overall.”
Tacoma remains a bargain if you zoom out to compare with the Seattle-Tacoma area metro. The report notes, “If we expand our view to the wider Seattle metro area, the median rent is $1,944.”
“Sammamish is currently the most expensive, with a median rent of $2,929. Lakewood is the metro’s most affordable city, with a median rent of $1,381,” it added.
Tacoma’s apartment vacancy rate stands at 6.7%, the report noted, up 0.6 percentage points from this time last year.
In a separate report, listings and data site RentCafe says that Tacoma also ranked No. 18 in “online engagement” among renters visiting its listings and rent-analysis reports in 2024. Minneapolis ranked No. 1, in its report of top cities for rental activity “to watch in 2025.” Atlanta was No. 2, followed by Overland Park, Kansas, at No. 3.
Among regions, the West and Midwest showed the most activity as the most sought-after regions by renters, according to the report.
For the West, California cities “saw more searches during the last year with Santa Rosa, CA, being the standout example as it managed to climb an impressive 144 spots to the top 10,” the report stated. The city ranked No. 6 in the report.
Sacramento, California, meanwhile, “climbed 38 spots to rank 16th,” the RentCafe report added.
Tacoma ranked ahead of Portland, Oregon (No. 19); Spokane, (No. 21); North Las Vegas, NV (No. 22); and Los Angeles (No. 23) and San Jose, California, at No. 25.
RentCafe says the report is based on “availability of apartments, listing views, apartments “saved as favorites” in searches, “and saved personalized searches for each city.”
