The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Washington For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in Washington that will put a big dent in your wallet.

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Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the most expensive places to live in Washington.

Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Washington does this very well. Families love the Evergreen State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.

But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.

These are the places in Washington that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.

After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Washington for 2023.

So where is the most expensive place to live in Washington? That would be Lynnwood.
the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 118 places in Washington with more than 5,000 people.

Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Washington for 2023:

  1. Lynnwood
  2. Bellingham
  3. Renton
  4. Des Moines
  5. Seattle
  6. Shoreline
  7. Pullman
  8. Burien
  9. Bellevue
  10. Kirkland

What's the most expensive place to live in Washington? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Lynnwood is the most expensive place to live in Washington.

So hopefully Ephrata (the cheapest place to live in Washington) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.

And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Washington and the most expensive cities in the country:

The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Washington For 2023

1. Lynnwood

Lynnwood, WA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 38,812
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.3x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 47.0x (9th most expensive)
More on Lynnwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Lynnwood comes in at $67,576 and the median home value is $492,600 for 2023.

2. Bellingham

Bellingham, WA

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 90,545
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.4x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 48.4x (17th most expensive)
More on Bellingham: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Bellingham comes in at $59,163 and the median home value is $440,300 for 2023.

3. Renton

Renton, WA

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 105,313
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.6x (25th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 48.7x (19th most expensive)
More on Renton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Renton comes in at $84,374 and the median home value is $474,700 for 2023.

4. Des Moines

Des Moines, WA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 32,631
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.7x (22nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 47.4x (11th most expensive)
More on Des Moines: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Des Moines comes in at $73,131 and the median home value is $416,500 for 2023.

5. Seattle

Seattle, WA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 726,054
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.3x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 58.5x (66th most expensive)
More on Seattle: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Seattle comes in at $105,391 and the median home value is $767,500 for 2023.

6. Shoreline

Shoreline, WA

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 58,213
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.6x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.3x (49th most expensive)
More on Shoreline: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Shoreline comes in at $95,623 and the median home value is $627,500 for 2023.

7. Pullman

Pullman, WA

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 32,968
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.7x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 35.7x (most expensive)
More on Pullman: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Pullman comes in at $31,992 and the median home value is $310,800 for 2023.

8. Burien

Burien, WA

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 51,646
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.8x (2most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.7x (38th most expensive)
More on Burien: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Burien comes in at $79,797 and the median home value is $459,800 for 2023.

9. Bellevue

Bellevue, WA

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 149,365
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.8x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 63.2x (84th most expensive)
More on Bellevue: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Bellevue comes in at $140,252 and the median home value is $951,200 for 2023.

10. Kirkland

Kirkland, WA

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 91,656
Rank Last Year: 20 (Up 10)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.6x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 60.9x (78th most expensive)
More on Kirkland: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Kirkland comes in at $121,998 and the median home value is $805,600 for 2023.

Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Evergreen State For 2023

Map Of The Cheapest Places To Live In Washington
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:

  1. How much do money do I make?
  2. How much do I have spend to live there?

You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.

For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.

With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2017-2021 around incomes and costs. They are:

  • Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
  • Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
  • Median Home Price

We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).

You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Washington to figure out which is the most expensive.

What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 118 places in Washington that have more than 5,000 people.

The place with the highest cost of living in Washington according to the data is Lynnwood. You can download the data here.

Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Washington For 2023

Well there you have it, the places in Washington that have the highest cost of living, with Lynnwood ranking as the most expensive city in the Evergreen State.

Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Washington according to the data:

  1. Ephrata
  2. Toppenish
  3. Othello

For more Washington reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Washington

Rank City ExpensiveScore Population Home/Income Ratio Income/Rent Ratio
1 Lynnwood 13.33 38,812 7.3x 47.0x
2 Bellingham 18.33 90,545 7.4x 48.4x
3 Renton 24.67 105,313 5.6x 48.7x
4 Des Moines 25.33 32,631 5.7x 47.4x
5 Seattle 26.67 726,054 7.3x 58.5x
6 Shoreline 26.67 58,213 6.6x 55.3x
7 Pullman 28.33 32,968 9.7x 35.7x
8 Burien 30.0 51,646 5.8x 51.7x
9 Bellevue 31.0 149,365 6.8x 63.2x
10 Kirkland 31.33 91,656 6.6x 60.9x
11 Mukilteo 32.0 21,409 6.1x 58.6x
12 Mill Creek 32.33 20,665 5.8x 56.9x
13 Edmonds 33.0 42,622 6.6x 59.6x
14 Port Townsend 33.17 10,002 6.8x 51.0x
15 Mountlake Terrace 33.33 21,210 5.1x 49.8x
16 Issaquah 33.67 39,057 5.6x 57.9x
17 Woodinville 33.67 13,247 6.0x 60.9x
18 Everett 34.0 110,438 5.5x 50.0x
19 Tukwila 36.0 21,545 5.2x 47.3x
20 Kent 36.33 134,890 5.2x 49.5x
21 Normandy Park 36.67 6,716 6.3x 63.5x
22 Sequim 37.0 7,896 6.1x 42.4x
23 Gig Harbor 37.0 11,505 6.0x 59.3x
24 Sumner 37.33 10,545 5.0x 47.7x
25 Anacortes 37.67 17,437 6.1x 58.9x
26 Federal Way 37.67 99,792 5.3x 49.1x
27 Redmond 38.0 72,166 5.9x 67.7x
28 Newcastle 38.0 12,855 6.4x 69.6x
29 Mercer Island 38.33 25,506 8.8x 75.8x
30 Poulsbo 38.67 11,652 5.3x 51.8x
31 Oak Harbor 39.33 24,267 5.4x 46.2x
32 Bothell 41.67 47,355 5.5x 59.6x
33 Ellensburg 42.0 19,215 5.5x 43.3x
34 Cheney 42.67 12,743 5.7x 44.2x
35 Burlington 43.0 9,220 5.2x 43.8x
36 Vancouver 43.33 188,331 5.1x 48.3x
37 Seatac 45.33 30,867 5.0x 48.8x
38 North Bend 45.33 7,393 5.6x 69.3x
39 Port Orchard 45.67 15,315 5.0x 50.8x
40 Pacific 47.0 7,130 4.8x 45.1x
41 Lakewood 47.33 62,972 5.5x 51.2x
42 Bainbridge Island 48.0 24,557 5.9x 82.1x
43 Olympia 49.0 54,579 5.2x 52.7x
44 Snohomish 49.33 10,091 5.6x 65.1x
45 Lynden 49.67 15,410 5.1x 56.3x
46 Kenmore 51.0 23,556 5.4x 71.3x
47 Ocean Shores 52.0 6,637 5.1x 49.0x
48 Ridgefield 52.0 10,432 4.2x 52.7x
49 Puyallup 52.33 42,366 4.8x 54.5x
50 Brier 52.67 6,524 5.0x 67.9x
51 Monroe 52.67 19,879 4.6x 56.3x
52 Lake Forest Park 53.0 13,529 5.3x 76.1x
53 Fife 53.0 10,869 4.5x 48.4x
54 Mount Vernon 53.33 34,824 5.3x 56.3x
55 Tacoma 53.33 217,332 5.0x 52.1x
56 University Place 53.67 34,565 5.1x 60.7x
57 Auburn 53.67 85,306 5.0x 56.7x
58 Bremerton 55.33 43,345 5.0x 50.5x
59 Lake Stevens 55.67 35,135 4.3x 55.1x
60 Milton 56.0 8,501 4.4x 50.5x
61 Sammamish 58.33 66,532 4.8x 76.8x
62 Sultan 60.33 5,208 4.3x 49.8x
63 Dupont 60.33 9,974 3.9x 51.0x
64 Shelton 62.33 10,288 4.3x 45.1x
65 Walla Walla 62.67 33,765 4.7x 51.1x
66 Lacey 62.67 52,572 4.1x 48.4x
67 Marysville 64.33 69,957 4.3x 57.5x
68 Arlington 65.17 19,832 4.2x 56.6x
69 Port Angeles 66.33 19,888 4.7x 53.4x
70 Sedro-Woolley 66.33 12,266 4.5x 53.5x
71 Maple Valley 66.33 27,643 4.0x 62.9x
72 Edgewood 68.33 12,132 4.5x 72.9x
73 Tumwater 68.67 24,855 4.4x 57.6x
74 Snoqualmie 69.0 13,718 4.0x 70.5x
75 Covington 69.67 20,608 3.8x 59.9x
76 Centralia 69.67 17,988 4.2x 48.3x
77 Stanwood 70.0 7,776 4.7x 72.0x
78 Steilacoom 70.33 6,673 4.6x 75.9x
79 Wenatchee 70.33 35,086 4.9x 58.6x
80 Blaine 70.33 5,773 4.8x 68.5x
81 Orting 71.0 8,781 3.4x 50.4x
82 Ferndale 71.0 14,777 4.7x 66.2x
83 Longview 71.67 37,542 4.5x 54.7x
84 Selah 72.0 8,081 4.2x 54.0x
85 Fircrest 74.67 7,109 4.5x 73.2x
86 Bonney Lake 77.0 22,229 3.6x 62.2x
87 Camas 77.0 25,774 4.1x 80.5x
88 East Wenatchee 77.67 14,113 4.6x 63.5x
89 Kelso 78.0 12,566 3.9x 50.8x
90 Duvall 79.67 8,007 3.6x 74.0x
91 Chehalis 79.67 7,427 4.3x 57.2x
92 Spokane Valley 79.83 102,178 4.2x 56.8x
93 Sunnyside 80.0 16,343 3.5x 47.4x
94 Yelm 81.0 10,205 3.8x 58.1x
95 Airway Heights 81.0 10,108 3.6x 50.2x
96 Yakima 82.33 96,266 4.1x 55.8x
97 Aberdeen 83.67 16,842 3.7x 51.0x
98 College Place 83.67 9,739 4.4x 61.6x
99 Battle Ground 84.67 20,536 4.0x 68.9x
100 Washougal 86.33 16,664 3.9x 73.1x

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About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.