Sumner WA rental income in 2026 runs about $2,219 a month for a typical rental, per Zillow's September 2026 rent index, up 3.5 percent in a year. Home prices went the other way: Redfin's median sale price was about $550,000 for the three months ending September, flat on the year. That gap between rent and price is the whole investment story in Sumner right now.
My office on West Tapps Drive is a short drive from Sumner, and investors ask me two questions about it more than any other: what will this house rent for, and how much of that rent do I keep? My earlier Sumner investment property guide walks the neighborhoods. This one stays on the income side. It covers rent by bedroom count, who rents in Sumner, the gross-yield math at today's prices, and the city and state rules that decide what reaches your account.
Sumner WA Rental Income Snapshot
- Typical rent, City of Sumner: about $2,219 a month in September 2026, up 3.5% in a year and about 22.7% since January 2022 (Zillow Observed Rent Index)
- Median sale price: about $550,000 for the three months ending September 2026, flat year over year, $309 per square foot (Redfin)
- Renter households: about 46% of Sumner households rent (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Gross yield at the median: roughly 4.8% before any expense
- 2026 rent increase limit: 9.683% for most Washington tenancies, 10% for 2027
What Does Sumner WA Rental Income Look Like in 2026?
The cleanest current read on rent is the Zillow Observed Rent Index, which tracks asking rents on the same kinds of homes over time. Sumner sits in the middle of its neighbors. It rents above Puyallup and Auburn and below Bonney Lake, and its one-year gain matched Auburn's.
| Area | Typical rent, Sept 2026 | 1-year change |
|---|---|---|
| City of Sumner | $2,219 | +3.5% |
| 98390 ZIP code | $2,223 | +3.5% |
| City of Bonney Lake | $2,627 | +4.6% |
| City of Puyallup | $2,199 | +1.6% |
| City of Auburn | $2,032 | +3.5% |
Source: Zillow Observed Rent Index, smoothed, all home types, September 2026. Zillow's Sumner series starts in January 2022.
The path matters as much as the level. Sumner rent climbed to about $2,065 by September 2023, slipped to about $2,017 a year later, then recovered to $2,144 in September 2025 and $2,219 now. A rental bought on a straight-line rent forecast would have missed that dip. Plan for flat years.
Sumner Rental Income by Bedroom Count
Bedroom count drives rent more than anything else, so a citywide average only gets you started. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey breaks Sumner's median gross rent out by bedrooms. Gross rent includes utilities the tenant pays, and the survey pools 2020 through 2024, so read it as a floor under today's asking rents. HUD's fiscal 2026 Fair Market Rents for the Tacoma metro area, which includes all of Pierce County, give a second benchmark.
| Bedrooms | Sumner median gross rent | Pierce County median gross rent | HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | $1,688 | $1,465 | $1,605 |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,123 | $1,794 | $1,971 |
| 3 bedrooms | $2,301 | $2,233 | $2,733 |
| 4 bedrooms | Sample too small | $2,564 | $3,102 |
Sources: Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25031 (Sumner margins of error run about $80 to $140); HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rents, Tacoma, WA HUD Metro FMR Area.
Two things stand out. Sumner's one- and two-bedroom units rent well above the county median, which fits a small town with a commuter rail station downtown. Three-bedroom rents, though, sit close to the county figure. A three-bedroom house in Sumner does not earn a big Sumner premium on rent, even though it often costs a Sumner premium to buy.
Who Rents in Sumner, and in What Kind of Home?
Sumner is close to an even split. Of about 4,586 households, roughly 2,091, or 46 percent, rent. That is far more than Bonney Lake's 21 percent and close to Puyallup's 48 percent. But most Sumner renters do not live in detached houses.
- Detached single-family homes: about 21% of renter households
- Attached homes such as townhomes: about 18%
- Duplexes through fourplexes: about 25%
- Buildings of five or more units: about 36%
The rental stock is also older. The survey found no measurable number of renter households in homes built in 2020 or later, and about 61 percent of renter householders moved in between 2010 and 2019. Long tenancies are common, which is good for vacancy and also means rents on those units often lag the market.
Income sets the ceiling on what you can charge. The median renter household income in Sumner is about $85,872, with a wide margin of error. A $2,219 rent is about 31 percent of that. About 47 percent of Sumner renter households already pay 30 percent or more of income on rent, so a rent pushed past the local market tends to sit vacant rather than lease.
Want a Rent Estimate for a Specific Sumner Address?
Send me the address and I will pull leased comparables, not asking rents, for the same bedroom count and building type nearby. You will see a realistic rent range before you make an offer.
Ask Clif for a Rent RangeThe Sumner WA Rental Income Math at Today's Prices
Here is the honest arithmetic. Redfin put Sumner's median sale price at about $549,738 for the three months ending September 2026, with homes taking a median 26 days to sell and closing at about 99.1 percent of list. Rent the typical home for $2,219 a month and you collect $26,628 a year, a gross yield of about 4.8 percent. Use the Census three-bedroom figure of $2,301 and gross yield is about 5.0 percent.
That is gross, before a single expense. The old one-percent rule of thumb would ask for $5,500 a month on a $550,000 house, more than double what Sumner rents support. So a median-priced Sumner house is a long-hold, low-vacancy play, not a monthly cash machine. My Sumner housing market breakdown covers the price trend, and Sumner home prices by neighborhood shows where the entry price is lower.
Before you trust any projection, list what comes off the top of Sumner WA rental income on that specific house:
- Property tax. Pull the actual bill for the parcel from the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer. Do not estimate it from a percentage.
- Insurance, including flood. Sumner sits where the White River meets the Puyallup, and flood mapping changes block by block on the valley floor.
- City utilities you may be carrying. More on that below.
- Vacancy and turnover. Even a week of vacancy and a cleaning between tenants comes straight out of the year.
- Repairs and management. Older stock means more repairs, and a property manager takes a cut if you do not self-manage.
Sumner Rules That Decide What Rental Income You Keep
State landlord law covers every Sumner rental, and the City of Sumner adds its own billing and licensing layer. These are the rules that change the income line, checked at source in October 2026.
| Rule | What it means for a Sumner rental |
|---|---|
| Rent increase limit | No increase in the first 12 months of a tenancy. After that, increases are capped at 9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027, with 90 days' written notice (RCW 59.18.700). |
| New-construction exemption | Homes whose first certificate of occupancy is 12 or fewer years old are exempt (RCW 59.18.710). Sumner's rental stock is older, so the cap applies to most of it. |
| City business license | Sumner requires a license for anyone engaging in business in the city, at $50 a year through the state's Business Licensing Service. The city page does not single out home rentals, so confirm with the Finance Department at (253) 863-8300. |
| State B&O tax | Rent from a lease of real estate is exempt from Washington's business and occupation tax (WAC 458-20-118). Stays under 30 days are lodging, which is taxed differently. |
| City utility account | The owner stays liable for water, sewer and storm charges even when bills go to the tenant, and unpaid charges are a lien on the property. |
| Source of income | A landlord may not refuse a qualified applicant because rent is paid with a housing voucher or other lawful income source (RCW 59.18.255). |
Rent limit figures from the Washington Department of Commerce. This is general information, not legal advice.
The utility rule surprises out-of-town owners most often. Sumner bills water, sewer and storm drainage on one consolidated bill. Under the city's owner application, charges go delinquent 20 days after billing, and a penalty of $15 or 5 percent applies. The city's tenant release form says the owner remains the party the city contracts with even when bills are mailed to the tenant, must renew that arrangement with each new tenant, and pays a final bill fee each time an account closes. If your lease makes the tenant pay utilities, watch the account anyway. A tenant's unpaid bill becomes your lien.
Adding Sumner WA Rental Income With an ADU
Because a median house rarely pencils on rent alone, the real income lever in Sumner is often a second or third unit on the same lot. Washington's 2023 ADU law, RCW 36.70A.681, sets the floor for every city inside an urban growth area, including Sumner:
- Two ADUs per lot where single-family homes are allowed, attached, detached or one of each.
- No owner-occupancy requirement. The city cannot require you to live on the lot.
- No off-street parking requirement within a half-mile walk of a major transit stop. The statute counts commuter rail stops, so Sumner Station's Sounder platform qualifies.
- Size and height floors. A city cannot cap ADU floor area below 1,000 square feet or roof height below 24 feet, unless the house itself is held lower.
- Garage conversions must be allowed even where the existing structure breaks current setback or lot coverage rules.
- Impact fees on an ADU cannot exceed half of what the main house would pay.
One local catch: those protections do not apply to lots with designated critical areas or their buffers, and frequently flooded areas count as critical areas under state law. On Sumner's valley floor, that check comes first. Sumner adopted its own ADU update in August 2022 and said it would revise it for the state rules. Confirm the current city code and the parcel's critical-area status with Sumner's planning department before you count ADU rent in an offer.
A Sumner Rental Income Checklist Before You Write an Offer
- Price rent from leased comparables. Same bedroom count, same building type, signed leases, not asking rents.
- Pull the real tax bill and an insurance quote, including a flood determination for the address.
- Check the certificate of occupancy date to see whether the rent cap applies.
- Ask for the utility history and any open balance on the city account.
- Confirm the license question with Sumner's Finance Department.
- If you are counting on an ADU, confirm zoning, critical areas and sewer capacity first.
Sumner WA Rental Income Questions I Hear Most
Zillow's Observed Rent Index put typical rent in the City of Sumner at about $2,219 a month in September 2026, up 3.5 percent in a year. Census survey data for 2020 to 2024 puts the median gross rent at about $1,688 for a one-bedroom, $2,123 for a two-bedroom and $2,301 for a three-bedroom. Leased comparables on the same street are the final word.
Usually not at the median. Redfin put Sumner's median sale price at about $549,738 for the three months ending September 2026. A $2,219 rent produces about $26,628 a year, a gross yield near 4.8 percent before taxes, insurance, repairs and vacancy. Most Sumner investors are holding for the long term or adding units rather than buying for monthly cash flow.
About 46 percent. The Census American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024 counts roughly 2,091 renter households out of about 4,586. Only about 21 percent of those renters live in detached houses. The rest live in townhomes, small multiplexes and apartment buildings, and the rental stock is mostly older.
In most cases, yes. RCW 59.18.700 bars rent increases in the first 12 months of a tenancy and caps later increases at 9.683 percent for 2026 and 10 percent for 2027, with 90 days of written notice. RCW 59.18.710 exempts homes whose first certificate of occupancy is 12 or fewer years old.
The owner is ultimately responsible. The City of Sumner will mail bills to a tenant at the owner's request, but its forms say the owner remains liable for the charges and that unpaid utility bills are a lien on the property. Owners must renew the tenant billing arrangement each time a tenant changes.
Often, yes. Washington's RCW 36.70A.681 requires cities like Sumner to allow two ADUs on lots where single-family homes are allowed, bars owner-occupancy requirements and bars off-street parking requirements within a half-mile walk of a commuter rail stop such as Sumner Station. Lots with designated critical areas, including frequently flooded areas, are excluded, so check the parcel first.
How I Help Investors Read Sumner WA Rental Income
I start with the rent, not the listing price. We pull leased comparables for the bedroom count and building type you are looking at, then work backward to the purchase price that makes sense for your plan. Along the way I check the flood map, the certificate date and the parcel's ADU potential so the numbers you run are the numbers you will live with.
If you are comparing towns, my guides to Bonney Lake rental demand, Puyallup rental property and Auburn rental yields cover the neighboring markets. The Pierce County hub lists every community guide I have written.
Talk Through a Sumner Rental Plan
Call me at (253) 223-2536 or reach out online. Send me the Sumner addresses you are watching. I will build a rent range from leased comps, flag the flood and utility questions, and tell you whether the lot has room for another unit.
Schedule a Consultation