Direct answer: In NoFeeNest's no-fee long-term inventory, Boston had 4,606 priced listings with a $2,500 median asking rent, while Seattle had 4,725 with a $1,600 median. The newest source rows were collected on .
That $900 gap is useful, but it is not a prediction of what any renter will pay. These are public listing cards gathered by NoFeeNest, not signed leases or verified transactions. The mix of apartments and rooms also differs between the two boards.
Boston and Seattle asking-price snapshot
| Metro | Priced listings | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Below $1,500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 4,606 | $1,800 | $2,500 | $3,200 | 816 (17.7%) |
| Seattle | 4,725 | $1,090 | $1,600 | $2,050 | 2,091 (44.3%) |
Seattle's board had nearly the same sample size, yet a much larger affordable tail: 44.3% of its priced cards were below $1,500, compared with 17.7% in Boston. The quartiles tell the same story. A quarter of Seattle's sample was at or below $1,090; Boston's 25th-percentile asking price was $1,800.
Room listings explain part of the difference
Boston's sample contained 3,657 apartment cards at a $2,795 median and 949 room cards at a $1,250 median. Seattle contained 3,453 apartment cards at a $1,799 median and 1,272 room cards at a $900 median. A renter comparing the headline city medians should therefore choose the same property type before deciding one market is cheaper.
Browse the current Boston no-fee long-term board or Seattle no-fee long-term board. Open the original source post, confirm that no tenant-side broker fee applies, and tour the unit before sending money.
Source and method
This snapshot was calculated from /opt/nofee/data/nofee.db, table listings. The filter was: metro Boston or Seattle; segment='long'; is_no_fee=1; scam_level=0; positive non-null price; and status either live or null. Percentiles use the ordered listing prices within each metro. Newest source timestamps were for Boston and for Seattle; highest included listing IDs were 170664 and 169793. The live market dataset will change as source posts are added or removed.
Questions renters ask
Is Boston always $900 more expensive than Seattle?
No. The $900 figure is the difference between medians in this timestamped NoFeeNest sample. Neighborhood, property type, lease term, utilities, and listing mix can change an individual comparison.
Are these completed rental transactions?
No. They are asking prices from public listing cards. NoFeeNest does not verify availability, ownership, lease execution, or the final rent paid.