If you are banking on a roommate to keep rent from eating your whole paycheck, where you live in Washington can make a bigger difference than who you live with. A new national analysis finds that sharing a two‑bedroom still trims monthly costs, but inland Spokane delivers a steeper percentage discount than the Emerald City. In both places, the gap runs to hundreds of dollars a month, which turns the choice between flying solo or splitting a lease into one of the bigger financial calls many renters make.
According to SmartAsset, splitting a two‑bedroom with a roommate saves the average renter about $541 a month across 100 large U.S. cities. The personal‑finance site ranked cities by the percentage difference between one‑bedroom rents and half the cost of a two‑bedroom, turning up a list that runs from Cleveland, where roommates see the largest percentage savings, to markets where going it alone is relatively more cost‑effective.
How Washington Cities Stack Up
Locally, the Tacoma News Tribune reports that SmartAsset’s ranking shows Spokane renters could save about 38.1 percent, roughly $400 a month, by sharing a two‑bedroom. The inland math plays out against a cheaper baseline than on the coast.
According to Zillow, the average monthly rent is about $1,407 in Spokane as of April 17. In Seattle it is about $1,975, according to Zillow as of the same date. That spread helps explain why the percentage savings from a shared place can look bigger inland, even when the absolute dollars saved in Seattle are higher.
Why Seattle’s Roommate Math Feels Different
SmartAsset puts Seattle among the cities where living alone is relatively more cost‑effective. The analysis estimates a 28.21 percent savings from sharing a two‑bedroom, equal to about $550 a month. In other words, one‑bedroom rents in Seattle are already high, and two‑bedroom asking prices climb even higher in raw dollars, so a roommate still frees up real money even when the percentage discount looks smaller next to Spokane’s.
How The Study Worked And The Policy Backdrop
SmartAsset’s ranking compares typical one‑bedroom rents with half the cost of a two‑bedroom, using Zumper asking‑rent listings from March 2025 through March 2026. That means the results reflect advertised prices rather than signed leases. The approach makes the numbers sensitive to which listings happen to be active in a given month, and which neighborhoods show up in the sample, so the percentages are better treated as a solid starting point than a promise for any specific unit.
State rules help shape what renters see as well. Washington’s rent‑increase limits under HB 1217 took effect May 7, 2025, and, according to the Washington State Legislature, restrict annual increases in many units to the lesser of 7 percent plus inflation or 10 percent.
For anyone weighing a move, the practical takeaway is simple, if not always fun, homework: run the numbers for the specific neighborhoods and buildings you are eyeing. In Spokane, splitting a two‑bedroom stands out as a clear money‑saver on a percentage basis. In Seattle, the monthly savings can still be substantial in dollar terms, but questions about privacy, commute time, and unit quality sit right alongside the rent line on the spreadsheet. A roommate can help with the balance sheet, even if they cannot do anything about your neighbor’s drum kit.
