What Students Pay to Live in Seattle
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 04, 2026 • US States & Cities
HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent in the Seattle-Bellevue metro area is $2,146 a month for a one-bedroom and $2,501 for a two-bedroom, among the highest rent benchmarks in the country. A King County Metro monthly pass costs $108.
🏠 HUD Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue, 1BR: $2,146/month (FY2026)
🏠 HUD Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue, 2BR: $2,501/month (FY2026)
💵 King County Metro monthly pass: $108
💵 Sound Transit ORCA LIFT low-income fare: $1 per ride, regardless of distance
🎓 Rent near University of Washington's U District tracks the wider metro benchmark closely
What Rent Costs in Seattle
Seattle carries one of the highest Fair Market Rent benchmarks of any US metro area. HUD's FY2026 figures put a one-bedroom in the Seattle-Bellevue area at $2,146 a month and a two-bedroom at $2,501, according to HUD Fair Market Rent data compiled by BNBCalc from the official HUD FY2026 schedule . That is roughly $600 above the FY2026 statewide Washington average across all bedroom sizes.
Tech-sector hiring from Amazon, Microsoft and a dense cluster of smaller companies keeps demand for apartments high across the city, including neighborhoods near the University of Washington's U District campus. Students who split a two-bedroom near campus generally land close to or below the one-bedroom FMR per person, which makes roommate housing the more common path for undergrads here than a solo studio.
Getting Around on ORCA
Seattle transit runs on the shared ORCA card system, which covers Sound Transit's Link light rail and Sounder trains, King County Metro buses, and several smaller agencies across the region. A King County Metro monthly pass costs $108, according to King County Metro . If you qualify for ORCA LIFT, the income-based reduced fare program, Sound Transit rides drop to a flat $1 regardless of distance, per Sound Transit's fare page .
| Fare type | 2026 price |
|---|---|
| King County Metro monthly pass | $108 |
| Sound Transit ORCA LIFT ride | $1 flat |
ORCA also gives you a free transfer window of two hours between trips, and it automatically charges only the fare difference if you switch to a pricier service mid-trip, so you rarely pay twice for one commute.
Balancing Rent Against Transit
Given how high rent runs near campus, many students weigh a cheaper unit farther from the U District against the light rail line, which now reaches south toward Sea-Tac and north toward Northgate and beyond. A $108 monthly Metro pass is a small line item next to a rent difference of several hundred dollars a month, so living a rail stop or two away from campus is often worth the trade for students on a tight budget.
A Monthly Snapshot
Splitting the $2,501 HUD two-bedroom benchmark between two roommates works out to about $1,251 each, still close to the one-bedroom figure but with a shared kitchen and living room instead of a solo studio. Add the $108 King County Metro monthly pass and a daily rail or bus commuter spends around $1,359 a month on housing and transit combined, before food and utilities. Riders who qualify for ORCA LIFT cut the transit side of that math to a fraction of the standard pass price.
Ways Students Cut Costs
Apply for ORCA LIFT if your income qualifies. It drops Sound Transit fares to a flat $1 per ride.
Split a two-bedroom near campus with a roommate rather than renting a one-bedroom alone, given the $355 monthly gap between HUD's 1BR and 2BR benchmarks.
Live a light rail stop or two outside the U District if rent runs closer to the metro-wide FMR there than right next to campus.
Load a King County Metro monthly pass onto your ORCA card if you commute daily rather than paying per ride.
Check your school's cost-of-attendance page for on-campus housing pricing before signing a private lease in one of the pricier neighborhoods near campus.