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

Rent, home values and prices in Spokane

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA metro at $1,006 for a one-bedroom, $1,280 for a two-bedroom and $1,563 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $274 a month, and the third bedroom another $283.

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $405,300. That works out to 5.2× the local median household income of $77,488, a mid-range ratio.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Spokane's Regional Price Parity at 100.3, essentially the US average of 100: a dollar of income here buys about what it would anywhere on average, rents and everyday goods included.

Spokane: the pre-tax income for each grade

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $50,000, Okay at $100,000 and Comfortable at $201,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 8% of income and the median home is 2.0× income.

Royal, the top band, starts at $565,000. At that income rent is 3% of pay and the median home 0.7× income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Spokane.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Spokane

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Tight, with scores from 34 to 41.

Comfortable is above every row of the table here. At $150,000 a two-bedroom still grades Okay, with rent taking 10% of income.

Where Spokane falls nationally

Out of 387 metros, Spokane has the 81st highest price parity and the 125th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the most expensive quarter on overall prices and near the middle on rent.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Asheville, NC ($1,288) and Yuba City, CA ($1,279).

Spokane in a Washington context

How Spokane stacks up against its state: $1,280 for a two-bedroom against Washington's $1,756, $405,300 for the median home against $564,600, and a price level of 100.3 against 107.0.

On statewide medians, a two-bedroom budget reaches Comfortable at $324,000 — above Spokane's $201,000 line.

If Spokane is on your list, Kennewick-Richland, WA, Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA, and Walla Walla, WA are the most similar Washington metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Spokane's median income on the scale

A household at the Spokane median income of $77,488 would see a two-bedroom score of 38 — Tight — with rent at 20% of income. That falls $123,512 short of the $201,000 Comfortable line, a reminder that the typical household here spends a larger share on housing than the Comfortable band allows. For Washington as a whole, the median household income of $98,141 scores 31 against statewide rents. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

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