Spokane, WA: Rental Property Market Guide

Updated March 2026 · Pop. 230,160

Spokane was Boise before Boise was Boise — a mid-size Pacific Northwest city that experienced a pandemic migration surge as remote workers from Seattle discovered they could buy a house for half the price with better outdoor access. Spokane home values jumped 50%+ from 2019 to 2022. Unlike Boise, Spokane's correction has been milder (5-8% from peak vs. 10-15% in Boise), partly because the local economy has more substance: Fairchild Air Force Base (6,000 employees), Providence and MultiCare health systems (combined 15,000+ workers), and a growing tech sector catalyzed by cheaper-than-Seattle office space and talent costs.

Seattle Refugees and Remote Workers

Spokane is 4.5 hours from Seattle by car or 45 minutes by daily Alaska Airlines flights. The median home price in Seattle is $820K. In Spokane, it's $360K. A Seattle tech worker earning $150K who goes remote can buy a 4-bed house in Spokane for what a 2-bed condo costs in Capitol Hill. This migration pipeline has added approximately 20,000 new residents to the Spokane metro since 2019. For landlords, these transplants rent first (12-18 months while they explore the city), and they're willing to pay $1,500-1,800/month for a quality 3-bed because they're calibrated to Seattle prices. The South Hill (99203, 99223) and Browne's Addition (99201) neighborhoods attract the highest proportion of tech workers.

Fairchild AFB and the Medical Economy

Fairchild Air Force Base, 10 miles west of downtown, operates the KC-135 Stratotanker fleet and employs approximately 6,000 military and civilian personnel. BAH rates for Spokane ($1,476 for E-5 with dependents) support rents of $1,200-1,500 in the Airway Heights (99001) and West Plains areas near the base. Medical employment is the other pillar: Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and MultiCare Deaconess Hospital together employ 15,000+ workers. The south Spokane neighborhoods along 29th and 37th avenues (99203, 99223) near the hospital campuses have some of the tightest vacancy in the metro — healthcare workers who need to be on-call want short commutes.

Washington State: No Income Tax

Washington has no state income tax, making it one of 9 states with this advantage. Rental income from Spokane properties is taxed only at the federal level. This saves 5-10% on your net income compared to investing in states like Oregon (9.9% top rate), California (13.3%), or Minnesota (9.85%). Spokane County's property tax rate is approximately 1.0% — moderate. On a $360K property, annual taxes are about $3,600. Washington does have a Business & Occupation (B&O) tax that can apply to rental income if your gross exceeds certain thresholds — consult a Washington tax professional. The Spokane County Assessor's website (spokanecounty.org/assessor) has property data.

North Spokane: The Affordable Pocket

North Spokane (99207, 99208, 99217) offers the most investor-friendly numbers in the metro. Properties run $250-320K — 20% below the south side — with rents of $1,200-1,500. The tenant base is more blue-collar: warehouse workers, Fairchild support contractors, and healthcare support staff. Indian Trail (99208) is the most suburban feel in the north with newer construction and family-oriented tenants. The north side's cap rates (5.5-6%) are meaningfully better than the south side (4-4.5%), and the neighborhoods are safe and stable. The trade-off: less appreciation potential than the south side, which benefits more directly from the Seattle migration premium.

Winter: A Factor You Should Know About

Spokane gets 45+ inches of snow annually — more than Chicago, more than Cleveland, more than Boston. Winter lasts from November through March, with January lows averaging 25°F. This matters for landlording: pipes freeze if tenants don't maintain heat (require 55°F minimum in the lease), ice dams can damage roofs, and snow removal is an ongoing expense or tenant responsibility that must be clearly defined. Insulate exposed pipes, install heat tape in crawl spaces, and budget $200-400/year per property for winter maintenance costs that don't exist in southern markets. None of this is a deal-breaker — people have been renting in Spokane for generations — but it's a line item that warms-climate investors consistently underestimate.