Study: Bellingham’s median rent increased by 16.8% last year. How does that compare to the nation?

A new study is highlighting the exponential growth of Whatcom County’s housing costs.

Median rental costs increased 16.8% over the last year across the Bellingham metropolitan area, according to Construction Coverage, a company that provides reviews and research on the construction, auto and real estate industries.

In 2023 the median rent was $1,484. That cost has increased to $1,734 in 2024 — up $250 per month.

Overall, the percentage increase of median rent in Whatcom County was greater than in the United States as a whole, which saw a 12.6% increase.

More than half of all U.S. states have seen rent grow by double-digit percentages.

Washington saw an 11% total increase in median rent prices, year over year, according to Construction Coverage. The median rent in 2023 across the state was $2,021. It’s up $222 to $2,243 in 2024.

Other areas in Washington have also experienced steep hikes in median rent prices.

The metropolitan area including Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue saw a 9.7% increase over the last year. In 2023, the median rent was $2,455. That cost has increased to $2,692 in 2024 — up $237 per month.

▪ The Kennewick-Richland metro area saw a 25.3% increase — $346 — from $1,365 to $1,711.

▪ Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater saw a 25.1% increase — $417 — from $1,664 to $2,081.

▪ Longview saw a 21.8% increase — $283 — from $1,299 to $1,582.

▪ Wenatchee saw an 18.1% increase — $262 — from $1,447 to $1,709.

▪ Walla Walla saw a 16.8% increase — $239 — from $1,421 to $1,660.

▪ The Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area saw a 16% increase — $258 — from $1,614 to $1,872.

▪ Yakima saw a 15.5% increase — $206 — from $1,331 to $1,537.

▪ The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area on the Oregon-Washington border saw a 9.8% increase — $200 — from $2,045 to $2,245.

▪ Spokane saw a 9.1% increase — $118 — from $1,291 to $1,409.

▪ Bremerton, Silverdale and Port Orchard saw an 8.2% increase — $173 — from $2,098 to $2,271.

“Increased rents have been one of the persistent factors underlying the price increases of the last two years, as a major component in several common measures of inflation,” wrote Construction Coverage’s Jonathan Jones in the study’s analysis. “With high home prices and mortgage interest rates pricing many would-be buyers out of the residential real estate market, rentals have been highly competitive.”

The study’s analysis suggests that these cost trends are influenced by a long-term shortage of housing stock in the United States, beginning with underbuilding in the 2010s due to the impacts of the Great Recession.

“Renters are feeling the consequences: rental vacancy rates are at their lowest level on record. In short, this means that more renters are competing for fewer available units,” Jones wrote.

More than 36% of Whatcom County residents are renters, with 52% being cost-burdened due to high rental prices. Fifty-four percent of Bellingham residents are renters, with a similar percentage of them being cost-burdened.

As of December 2023, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Bellingham was $1,550, a 13% increase from the previous year, according to updated data from Zumper.