Rent vs buy in Tacoma, WA
In Tacoma, Washington, the typical rent is $1,773 /mo and the typical home is $482,647.
Over a 7-year period, renting comes out ahead by $41k.
Using Tacoma's typical rent and home value, plus 20% down and today's mortgage rate. Year 13 is the break-even point.
An opinion, labelled clearly, with the math shown. These are estimates, not quotes. Adjust a number and the stamp shifts.
- Renting is ahead by
- $41k after 7 years
- When costs balance
- the 13th year when owning catches up
- Full cost of ownership
- Monthly: $4,179 year 1, against $1,773 rent
Change my numbers
The stamp takes Tacoma's typical rent and typical home value as its inputs. Change your rent, your price and your years, and the result can flip.
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Put in the rent, price and down payment you have in mind. The stamp updates as those figures change.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Tacoma?
After counting the money returned when you sell, renting costs $40,518 less over 7 years. During the first 12 years, renting costs less. By year 13, owning catches up.
Rent. Ownership. Your net cost so far, organized by year.
Average rent compared with mortgage payment in Tacoma
The rent and mortgage payment don't show the whole picture. For year 1, here are all monthly costs at Tacoma's typical price.
| Each month, year 1 | Amount | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $1,773 | All of it, every month |
| Mortgage payment | $2,631 | $2,319 of it is interest in year 1 |
| Property tax | $378 | 0.94% of the value a year |
| Insurance | $94 | Census median for the city |
| Upkeep | $402 | 1% of the value a year |
| Owning, cash out | $3,506 | $312 of it builds equity |
| Lost return on the down payment | $785 | What the cash would earn each year at 8.3% |
| Buying costs, spread out | $201 | 3.5% of the price over 7 years |
| True cost of owning | $4,179 | Cash out, minus the equity part, plus the two entries above |
The Tacoma verdict, in numbers
- The typical home value: Zillow ZHVI, September 2026 for this calculation.
- $482,647
- The typical rent: Zillow ZORI, September 2026 for this calculation.
- Monthly: $1,773
- For the down payment, 20% avoids private mortgage insurance, which the model does not include
- 20%
- Rate for the mortgage: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US)
- 7.24%
- Growth in home prices: FHFA house price index, Washington, 1995 to 2025 for this calculation.
- Annual: 5.3%
- Rent growth: CPI rent of primary residence, yearly growth from 2006 to 2026
- 3.5% each year
- Return on savings: 60% S&P 500, dividends included, plus 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced each year, 1928 to 2025
- 8.3% yearly
- Property tax: Census ACS 2020-2024, Tacoma
- 0.94% of the value
- Home insurance: Census ACS 2020-2024, Tacoma
- $94 /mo
- UpkeepFannie Mae, 1% to 4% range, low end
- Each year, 1% of value
- Buying costs: Freddie Mac, midpoint of 2% to 5%
- 3.5% of the price
- Selling costs: Agent commission and closing costs
- 6% of the price
What would flip the result in Tacoma?
Each line marks where Tacoma's 7-year verdict changes while all other assumptions stay the same.
When renting comes out ahead
- Prices for homes grow by under 6.3% each year (we apply Washington's long-run rate, 5.3%).
- The rate for a mortgage stays above 5.75%.
- A comparable home rents for under $2,210 each month (the typical rent here is $1,773).
- Your move happens before year 13.
When buying comes out ahead
- Each year, home price growth runs faster than 6.3%.
- You fix a mortgage rate under 5.75% (today's is 7.24%).
- The same home would cost more than $2,210 a month to rent.
- You remain there for 13 years or more.
How Tacoma compares with the other 812 cities
| Measure | Tacoma | Median city |
|---|---|---|
| Typical home value | $482,647 | $422,451 |
| Typical rent | $1,773 /mo | $1,837 /mo |
| Price-to-rent ratio | 22.7 (#216 of 813) | 18.5 |
| Home prices, last 10 years | 7.5% a year | 6.2% a year |
| Rents, last 5 years | 2.8% a year | 4% a year |
| Property tax | 0.94% | 0.87% |
| Households that rent | 44% | 42% |
Sources: Zillow ZHVI, ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.
More cities in Washington
- Rent. Seattle, WA. Here, renting wins by $128k.
- Rent. Spokane, WA. Here, renting wins by $26k.
- Rent. Vancouver, WA. Here, renting wins by $39k.
- Rent. Bellevue, WA. Here, renting wins by $294k.
- Rent. Kent, WA. Here, renting wins by $83k.
- Renting in Everett, WA wins by $77k.
- For Spokane Valley, WA, renting comes out $30k ahead.
- Renting in Renton, WA wins by $92k.
- For Federal Way, WA, renting comes out $61k ahead.
- Rent. In Yakima, WA, renting wins by $27k.
- Rent. In Bellingham, WA, renting wins by $85k.
- Rent. In Kirkland, WA, renting is ahead by $218k.