Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Washington (2026)

Gross asking rental yields range from 5.6 percent in Battle Ground to 6.8 percent in Spanaway across the 20 Washington markets shown, a spread of 1.2 points. Compare purchase prices alongside property expenses and rental demand rather than treating the highest ratio as a recommendation. Second is Sequim: 6.3 percent gross, $450,000 to buy, $2,375 a month to rent. Volume and yield part ways: Vancouver closes about 201 homes a month, more than any other city here, and ranks eleventh on yield at 5.8 percent. The median city on this list closed at $490,475, well below the Washington statewide median of $580,000. The table shows the 20 highest-yielding markets among 74 Washington cities meeting the coverage requirements; the yield range above describes the markets shown.

The ranking

Gross yield here is an asking rental yield screen: twelve times the median asking rent over the median closed price, before taxes, insurance, vacancy, management or repairs. Sales use municipal boundaries. Rental listings use the associated city name and may cover a wider postal area. The ratio therefore compares related, but not perfectly matched, market samples, and a home bought at the median price does not necessarily earn the median rent. Confirmed-close medians appear where at least 30 confirmed lease closes were recorded in the window.

City by city

1. Spanaway, 6.8 percent gross

Rent is what puts Spanaway first here; on price alone it would sit ninth of 20. The numbers: $485,000 median closed price across 200 closings, $2,755 median asking rent across 467 listings, 6.8 percent gross. Houses there closed at about $269 per square foot. See the Spanaway page for the property mix and the price band.

2. Sequim, 6.3 percent gross

Sequim ranks second on yield but only sixth on entry price: the $2,375 median asking rent is doing the work, not a cheap purchase. At $450,000 to buy and $2,375 a month to rent, Sequim yields 6.3 percent gross on 267 tracked closings. Houses there closed at about $285 per square foot. Full detail is on the Sequim market page.

3. Deer Park, 6.2 percent gross

Only 79 rental listings sit behind Deer Park's $2,000 median; the yield is real but less settled than in cities with hundreds. The numbers: $389,997 median closed price across 226 closings, $2,000 median asking rent across 79 listings, 6.2 percent gross. Full detail is on the Deer Park market page.

4. Yelm, 6.1 percent gross

Yelm ranks fourth on yield but only twelfth on entry price: the $2,600 median asking rent is doing the work, not a cheap purchase. Homes in Yelm closed at a median of $510,950 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,600, a gross yield of 6.1 percent. See the Yelm page for the property mix and the price band.

5. Shelton, 6.1 percent gross

A low entry price does not carry Shelton far: it is first cheapest on this list and fifth on yield, with rent of $1,766 against a $348,500 median price. At $348,500 to buy and $1,766 a month to rent, Shelton yields 6.1 percent gross on 138 tracked closings. Houses there closed at about $233 per square foot. Full detail is on the Shelton market page.

6. Lacey, 6.1 percent gross

Lacey ranks sixth on yield but only thirteenth on entry price: the $2,634 median asking rent is doing the work, not a cheap purchase. The numbers: $519,995 median closed price across 368 closings, $2,634 median asking rent across 714 listings, 6.1 percent gross. Houses there closed at about $287 per square foot. Full detail is on the Lacey market page.

7. Sedro Woolley, 6.1 percent gross

Rent is what puts Sedro Woolley seventh here; on price alone it would sit eleventh of 20. Homes in Sedro Woolley closed at a median of $495,000 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,500, a gross yield of 6.1 percent. Full detail is on the Sedro Woolley market page.

8. Ocean Shores, 6.0 percent gross

Ocean Shores is cheaper than its yield rank suggests: second on price, eighth on yield, because a $355,000 home there rents for only $1,786. The numbers: $355,000 median closed price across 217 closings, $1,786 median asking rent across 122 listings, 6.0 percent gross. Houses there closed at about $269 per square foot. Full detail is on the Ocean Shores market page.

9. Puyallup, 6.0 percent gross

Puyallup ranks ninth on yield but only sixteenth on entry price: the $2,750 median asking rent is doing the work, not a cheap purchase. At $550,000 to buy and $2,750 a month to rent, Puyallup yields 6.0 percent gross on 265 tracked closings. Houses there closed at about $300 per square foot. See the Puyallup page for the property mix and the price band.

10. Graham, 5.9 percent gross

Graham ranks tenth on yield but only seventeenth on entry price: the $2,900 median asking rent is doing the work, not a cheap purchase. At $590,000 to buy and $2,900 a month to rent, Graham yields 5.9 percent gross on 207 tracked closings. Houses there closed at about $283 per square foot. The Graham market page carries the monthly figures.

11. Vancouver, 5.8 percent gross

Homes in Vancouver closed at a median of $471,710 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,295, a gross yield of 5.8 percent. See the Vancouver page for the property mix and the price band.

12. East Wenatchee, 5.8 percent gross

East Wenatchee moves fast, 7 days from listing to contract at the median, which matters more than its 5.8 percent yield if you cannot close quickly. The numbers: $485,950 median closed price across 128 closings, $2,350 median asking rent across 164 listings, 5.8 percent gross. Full detail is on the East Wenatchee market page.

13. Liberty Lake, 5.8 percent gross

Homes in Liberty Lake closed at a median of $540,000 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,595, a gross yield of 5.8 percent. Houses there closed at about $253 per square foot. The Liberty Lake market page carries the monthly figures.

14. Bonney Lake, 5.7 percent gross

Rent is what puts Bonney Lake fourteenth here; on price alone it would sit nineteenth of 20. The numbers: $627,500 median closed price across 168 closings, $3,000 median asking rent across 215 listings, 5.7 percent gross. The Bonney Lake market page carries the monthly figures.

15. Pasco, 5.7 percent gross

A low entry price does not carry Pasco far: it is fifth cheapest on this list and fifteenth on yield, with rent of $1,995 against a $419,922 median price. At $419,922 to buy and $1,995 a month to rent, Pasco yields 5.7 percent gross on 508 tracked closings. See the Pasco page for the property mix and the price band.

16. Marysville, 5.7 percent gross

Homes in Marysville closed at a median of $615,859 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,925, a gross yield of 5.7 percent. Houses there closed at about $348 per square foot. Full detail is on the Marysville market page.

17. Port Angeles, 5.6 percent gross

Port Angeles is cheaper than its yield rank suggests: fourth on price, seventeenth on yield, because a $405,000 home there rents for only $1,900. Homes in Port Angeles closed at a median of $405,000 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $1,900, a gross yield of 5.6 percent. Houses there closed at about $277 per square foot. Full detail is on the Port Angeles market page.

18. Maple Valley, 5.6 percent gross

Maple Valley moves fast, 9 days from listing to contract at the median, which matters more than its 5.6 percent yield if you cannot close quickly. The numbers: $725,000 median closed price across 253 closings, $3,400 median asking rent across 158 listings, 5.6 percent gross. See the Maple Valley page for the property mix and the price band.

19. Bremerton, 5.6 percent gross

Bremerton is cheaper than its yield rank suggests: seventh on price, nineteenth on yield, because a $460,000 home there rents for only $2,150. Homes in Bremerton closed at a median of $460,000 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,150, a gross yield of 5.6 percent. Houses there closed at about $265 per square foot. The Bremerton market page carries the monthly figures.

20. Battle Ground, 5.6 percent gross

A low entry price does not carry Battle Ground far: it is fourteenth cheapest on this list and twentieth on yield, with rent of $2,500 against a $537,000 median price. Homes in Battle Ground closed at a median of $537,000 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,500, a gross yield of 5.6 percent. The Battle Ground market page carries the monthly figures.

How this ranking is built

• •Cities: every Washington city where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the municipal boundary in its reporting window (six or twelve months) and at least 50 rental listings under the city's name since September 10, 2025: 74 cities qualify and the table shows the 20 highest-yielding.
• •Prices: the median price homes closed at inside the city limits, from Resideline's tracked closings; the state comparison uses the statewide median of $580,000 across 57,565 closings.
• •Rents: the median advertised rent on rental listings Resideline tracked in the last twelve months, all property types, measured on the listings that carry the city's name (a postal footprint, wider than the city line in some places).
• •Confirmed-close medians: Observed rent blends two kinds of record: confirmed lease closes extracted from property records, and the final asking rent on listings that left Resideline tracking without a recorded close. Where a city has at least 30 confirmed closes in the window, their median is printed beside the asking figure; in the last twelve months about a quarter of Resideline's close episodes are confirmed closes. The asking and confirmed-close samples are separate, not paired, so a difference between their medians is not a measured gap on the same listings.
• •What is missing: taxes, insurance, vacancy, management and repairs, which turn a gross yield into a net one, and the unit mix, which differs between what sells and what rents.

Sources and related pages

• •Resideline tracked closings inside city limits (window per city, updated September 10, 2026) and rental listings since September 10, 2025; confirmed lease closes extracted from property records.
• •More Washington rankings: Cheapest cities to buy a house in Washington ranks the same kind of list with each city's price per square foot for houses, realized appreciation and days to contract beside the median, and Cap Rate by City ranks the Washington cities Resideline tracks by gross rental yield. The Washington housing market hub carries the statewide figures and the largest Washington markets by closings.
• •Asking rent vs observed rent compares live asking rents with final asking rents under that study's own definition; it says nothing about confirmed lease closes.

Prepared with Resideline's research pipeline and reviewed by Jeffrey Batista, Resideline's founder.