What salary do you need to live in Olympia, WA?

Olympia housing costs at a glance

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA metro at $1,471 for a one-bedroom, $1,714 for a two-bedroom and $2,036 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $243 a month, and the third bedroom another $322.

On the ownership side, the typical owner-occupied home is valued at $480,300. That works out to 5.0× the local median household income of $96,563, a mid-range ratio.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 103.7, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 3.7% more than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $96,460 would at average US prices.

The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Olympia

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $68,000 for Tight, $137,000 for Okay and $275,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $138,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

Royal, the top band, starts at $873,000. At that income rent is 2% of pay and the median home 0.6× income.

Nothing here is a separate rule of thumb; plug any of these incomes into the calculator with two bedrooms and Olympia shows the matching grade.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Olympia

Choosing a bigger place in Olympia at $75,000 trims the score from 30 to 25 without leaving Tight.

None of the four salaries reaches Comfortable for two bedrooms; even $150,000 scores 48, Okay, which fits the $275,000 line above.

Olympia compared with every US metro

On price level Olympia is 38th of 387 (1 = most expensive); on two-bedroom rent it is 35th, and on median home value 40th. The two rankings agree, both falling in the top 10%.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL ($1,721) and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ ($1,684).

Comparing Olympia with Washington

Statewide, Washington's median two-bedroom rent is $1,756 and its median home value $564,600. Olympia's rent is −2% against that, and its home value −15%; the price parity is 103.7 versus 107.0 for the state.

The Washington figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $324,000 against $275,000 for Olympia.

Within Washington, the metros closest to Olympia on rent and overall prices are Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA, and Bellingham, WA. Their Comfortable lines for two bedrooms sit at $309,000, $313,000, and $289,000.

The median Olympia household

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $96,563, which grades Tight (35) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Reaching Comfortable would take $178,437 more than the median household earns. For Washington as a whole, the median household income of $98,141 scores 31 against statewide rents. Keep in mind a household median often combines two incomes.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.