West Coast · Updated October 2026
Washington in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$2,044/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
24.7%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
None
on wage income
One of 9 states with no wage income tax
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.79%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
104.1
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
64th
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Washington stands out: no state income tax on wages and the 7th highest median household income among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the 7th highest natural-disaster risk, the 7th most expensive two-bedroom rent and the 4th highest everyday costs.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.2% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 24th lowest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Seattle (Seattle Tacoma Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 48°F | 37°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 60°F | 44°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 75°F | 56°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 61°F | 47°F |
$2,549/mo two-bedroom · $2,180 one-bedroom (Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Seattle is a tech-money city between mountains and water — grey and drizzly for eight months, glorious in summer, with strong coffee, seafood and outdoor culture. Expensive, traffic-choked, and socially reserved in a way transplants notice quickly.
$1,494/mo two-bedroom · $1,173 one-bedroom (Spokane, WA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Spokane is eastern Washington's hub — dramatically cheaper than Seattle, drier, with real four-season weather and lakes and skiing nearby. More conservative, smaller job market, and a revitalising downtown along a genuinely nice river gorge.
$2,064/mo two-bedroom · $1,682 one-bedroom (Tacoma, WA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Tacoma is Seattle's more affordable, more working-class neighbour with a real port, a good museum district and views of Mount Rainier. Commuting north is slow; the tradeoff is housing you can actually buy.
$1,872/mo two-bedroom · $1,529 one-bedroom (Bellingham, WA MSA)
Bellingham is a small coastal college town between Seattle and Vancouver, with mountains, islands and a strong outdoor and environmentalist culture. Very rainy, limited high-paying work, and housing costs pushed up by Canadians and remote workers.
$1,878/mo two-bedroom · $1,633 one-bedroom (Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA)
Vancouver sits across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, with no state income tax in Washington and Oregon's no-sales-tax shopping a bridge away. Growing fast, with a revived waterfront and bridge traffic.
$1,487/mo two-bedroom · $1,230 one-bedroom (Kennewick-Richland, WA MSA)
Kennewick is one of the Tri-Cities in eastern Washington, with the Hanford nuclear site, wine country and irrigated farms. Sunny, dry and affordable compared with western Washington.
$1,946/mo two-bedroom · $1,656 one-bedroom (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA MSA)
Olympia is Washington's small, green, politically active state capital at the southern tip of Puget Sound. Government and education jobs, a quirky arts scene, heavy rainfall, and a much lower profile than Seattle.
$1,313/mo two-bedroom · $1,004 one-bedroom (Yakima, WA MSA)
Yakima sits in a dry agricultural valley east of the Cascades — orchards, hops and wine, with a large Latino population and a low cost of living. Hot summers, cold winters, and an economy tied closely to farming.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
No. Washington is one of nine states that don’t tax wage income. Sales and property taxes still apply: a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.2% of income in state and local income, property and sales tax (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $2,044 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,701, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $285 more than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 104.1 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 167.0 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 24.7% of the state’s median household income of $99,389.
Washington recorded 326.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 24th highest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are wildfires and earthquakes. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Washington’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 64th percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Bellingham and Vancouver. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.