What is the median rent in Tacoma, WA?

Name: Median rent in Tacoma, WA, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Tacoma, WA is $1,676 (±$28) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 40,054 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Tacoma, the median gross rent went from $1,180 in 2015–2019 to $1,676 in 2020–2024 (+42.0%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $1,676 (±$28)
Rented homes: 40,054 (±1,280)
$2,000 or more: 29.6%
Since 2015–2019: +42.0%

How much rent costs in Tacoma

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Tacoma	Pierce County	Washington	United States
Less than $500	6.1% (±1.0 points)	3.1%	4.6%	6.3%
$500 to $999	7.5% (±1.0 points)	5.9%	10.4%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	25.3% (±1.9 points)	21.7%	21.4%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	31.5% (±2.1 points)	31.6%	26.2%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	18.0% (±1.5 points)	22.2%	18.7%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	6.0% (±1.1 points)	8.7%	9.1%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	5.6% (±1.1 points)	6.8%	9.5%	6.8%

The most common range is $1,500 to $1,999, paid by 31.5% of renting households.

29.6% of rented homes in Tacoma cost $2,000 or more a month.

Tacoma against Pierce County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Tacoma	Pierce County	Washington	United States
Median gross rent	$1,676 (±$28)	$1,806 (±$18)	$1,760 (±$7)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	40,054 (±1,280)	120,123 (±2,182)	1,070,508 (±7,137)	42,849,984

In Tacoma, median gross rent is lower than in Pierce County ($1,806).

It is also lower than in Washington ($1,760).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

In Pierce County, Tacoma ranks 42 of 52 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 181 of 417.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Tacoma has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$1,180 (±$24)	$1,676 (±$28)	+42.0%	Up after inflation
Households that rent	48.0% (±1.1 points)	44.2% (±1.3 points)	−3.8 percentage points	Measurable decrease
Rental vacancy rate	4.4% (±0.9 points)	3.9% (±0.8 points)	−0.5 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Tacoma

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Tacoma
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Tacoma	—	$1,676 (±$28)	—
Fircrest	3.0 mi	$1,554 (±$222)	Not measurably different
Ruston	4.0 mi	$2,598 (±$1,149)	Not measurably different
University Place	4.8 mi	$1,762 (±$57)	Higher
Fife	5.3 mi	$1,889 (±$71)	Higher
Fife Heights	5.4 mi	$2,542 (±$2,191)	Not measurably different
Waller	5.4 mi	$1,787 (±$158)	Not measurably different
Midland	5.9 mi	$1,546 (±$144)	Not measurably different
Wollochet	5.9 mi	$1,915 (±$182)	Higher

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: University Place, WA ($1,762), Fife, WA ($1,889), Wollochet, WA ($1,915).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Pierce County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
36	Carbonado	$1,809 (±$306)
37	Waller	$1,787 (±$158)
38	University Place	$1,762 (±$57)
39	Longbranch	$1,750 (±$382)
40	Key Center	$1,705 (±$719)
41	Clear Lake (Pierce County)	$1,699 (±$385)
42	Tacoma	$1,676 (±$28)
43	Parkland	$1,663 (±$38)
44	Alderton	$1,633 (±$297)
45	Wauna	$1,602 (±$324)
46	Wilkeson	$1,594 (±$249)
47	Fircrest	$1,554 (±$222)
48	Midland	$1,546 (±$144)

Showing 13 of 52 places in Pierce County, ranked from highest to lowest.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Tacoma

What is the average rent in Tacoma, WA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Tacoma is $1,676 (±$28) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Tacoma?

In Tacoma, the median gross rent went from $1,180 in 2015–2019 to $1,676 in 2020–2024 (+42.0%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

How many rentals in Tacoma cost more than $2,000 a month?

29.6% of rented homes in Tacoma have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 6.1% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Tacoma higher than in Pierce County?

In Tacoma, median gross rent is lower than in Pierce County ($1,806).

It is also lower than in Washington ($1,760).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Tacoma city, Washington (place:70000, in state:53).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.