How Amazon Transformed Seattle's Rental Market

Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood, site of Amazon's headquarters, has been at the core of a jobs boom consistently pushing home value and rent growth to the top of national rankings.

Thanks to the soaring labor market, what once was a post-industrial, district is now correlated to faster annual rent increases between 2011 and 2015, around $0.01 per square foot on a typical 650 square foot 1-bedroom apartment. Rent increases metro-wide averaged $0.05 per year, based on data collected by Zillow.

South Lake Union and adjacent areas are home to the highest concentrations of people who work in South Lake Union, and they have seen the largest growth in numbers of residents who work in South Lake Union – an area where the employment landscape is dominated by Amazon.

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