Washington, D.C. combines high housing costs with relatively high household incomes, long commutes, and a broad range of neighborhood rents. The figures below separate District-level estimates from Washington-area measures and identify the relevant measurement periods.
Contents
- Housing costs and ownership
- FY 2026 metro-area rent benchmarks
- FY 2026 ZIP-code rent benchmarks
- Income, poverty, and household resources
- Consumer-price trends
- Transportation and commuting
- Property taxes and wage floors
Housing costs and ownership
The U.S. Census Bureau’s QuickFacts profile for the District of Columbia reports a 41.5% owner-occupied housing unit rate for 2020–2024. That means renting is the more common tenure in the District during this period, with 58.5% of occupied housing units not owner-occupied by the household.
The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $737,100 in 2020–2024. For owners with a mortgage, median selected monthly owner costs were $3,128. For owners without a mortgage, the corresponding median was $899 per month. These are different household cost positions: the figures should not be treated as a single typical payment or as a substitute for a current listing price.
The same Census profile puts median gross rent at $1,954 per month for 2020–2024. This is a District-wide historical estimate over the stated period, while the HUD benchmarks later in this article are FY 2026 fair-market-rent measures for a different geography and purpose.
The District had 371,606 housing units as of July 1, 2025, and 324,491 households during 2020–2024. Average household size was 1.99 persons. Together, these figures describe a compact housing market with relatively small households, but they do not establish how many bedrooms each household occupies or how housing costs are distributed across neighborhoods.
FY 2026 metro-area rent benchmarks
HUD’s FY 2026 Schedule of Metropolitan & Non-Metropolitan Fair Market Rents gives fair market rents for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD metropolitan area. This metro-area geography includes places outside the District, so it should not be read as a District-only rent survey.
For FY 2026, the metro-area fair market rents were $1,953 for a zero-bedroom unit, $2,015 for a one-bedroom unit, $2,246 for a two-bedroom unit, $2,835 for a three-bedroom unit, and $3,332 for a four-bedroom unit.
| Unit size | FY 2026 Washington metro fair-market rent |
|---|---|
| Zero bedroom | $1,953 |
| One bedroom | $2,015 |
| Two bedrooms | $2,246 |
| Three bedrooms | $2,835 |
| Four bedrooms | $3,332 |
The sequence shows how HUD’s benchmark changes by unit size, but it is not a personal affordability threshold. A household’s actual budget also depends on income, utilities, debt, transportation, and the specific lease or property. The metro-area values are useful for comparing bedroom categories at one measurement point; they are not the same series as the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 median gross rent.
FY 2026 ZIP-code rent benchmarks
HUD’s FY 2026 Small Area Fair Market Rent Schedule provides ZIP-code-level benchmarks inside Washington, D.C. The values below illustrate how much the benchmark can vary within the District.
In ZIP code 20001, the FY 2026 small-area fair-market rents were $2,730 for zero bedrooms, $2,820 for one bedroom, $3,140 for two bedrooms, $3,960 for three bedrooms, and $4,660 for four bedrooms. In ZIP code 20003, the corresponding figures were $2,930, $3,020, $3,370, $4,250, and $5,000. In ZIP code 20011, they were $1,770, $1,820, $2,030, $2,560, and $3,010.
| ZIP code | Zero bedroom | One bedroom | Two bedrooms | Three bedrooms | Four bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20001 | $2,730 | $2,820 | $3,140 | $3,960 | $4,660 |
| 20003 | $2,930 | $3,020 | $3,370 | $4,250 | $5,000 |
| 20011 | $1,770 | $1,820 | $2,030 | $2,560 | $3,010 |
These are HUD small-area fair-market-rent benchmarks for FY 2026, not claims that every unit in a ZIP code rents for the listed amount. Within this three-ZIP comparison, 20003 has the highest benchmark for every bedroom category, while 20011 has the lowest. The difference is especially visible for four-bedroom units: the listed benchmark is $4,660 in 20001, $5,000 in 20003, and $3,010 in 20011.
The ZIP-code figures also demonstrate why a single District-wide number can hide meaningful location differences. Someone comparing neighborhoods should keep the bedroom count constant and distinguish these small-area HUD benchmarks from asking rents, signed leases, or the Census median gross rent.
Income, poverty, and household resources
The Census Bureau’s District of Columbia QuickFacts reports median household income of $109,870 in 2024 dollars for 2020–2024. Per capita income in the past 12 months was $77,348 in 2024 dollars. These are income measures, not disposable-income measures: they do not subtract housing, taxes, transportation, debt, or other household expenses.
The share of people in poverty was 16.4% during 2020–2024. This figure is important when interpreting citywide income statistics because a high median does not mean that all residents experience the same resources or housing choices. The data also show a 70.9% civilian labor-force participation rate for people age 16 and over, including a 69.4% participation rate for women.
Household resources include more than cash income. The share of people under age 65 without health insurance was 4.8% in 2020–2024, and 91.2% of households had a broadband Internet subscription. Neither measure is a direct monthly cost, but both can affect household financial planning and access to work, services, and information.
The income and poverty figures are District-level measures for 2020–2024, while the housing benchmarks in the previous sections include both a 2020–2024 Census estimate and FY 2026 HUD schedules. Keeping those periods separate matters when using the statistics to plan a move or compare a household budget.
Consumer-price trends
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Summary of annual and semi-annual indexes reports Washington-Arlington-Alexandria CPI-U semiannual averages of 293.500 in 2022, 301.722 in 2023, 310.363 in 2024, and 316.683 in 2025. The associated 12-month changes were 6.8% in 2022, 2.8% in 2023, 2.9% in 2024, and 2.0% in 2025.
| Year | Washington-area CPI-U semiannual average | 12-month change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 293.500 | 6.8% |
| 2023 | 301.722 | 2.8% |
| 2024 | 310.363 | 2.9% |
| 2025 | 316.683 | 2.0% |
For 2025, the Washington metro-area CPI-U semiannual average was 316.683, compared with 315.285 for the U.S. city average. The Washington-area 12-month change was 2.0%, versus 2.5% for the U.S. city average. These measures cover consumer prices in the relevant CPI areas; they are not a dedicated housing-cost index and should not be used to restate the HUD rent schedules.
The Washington metro area’s 2024 12-month change was 2.9%, compared with 2.5% in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson. In 2023, Washington’s 12-month change was 2.8%, compared with 3.8% in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson. This provides a nearby comparison for those years, while the 2025 comparison above uses the U.S. city average.
Transportation and commuting
District workers age 16 and over had a mean travel time to work of 30.0 minutes in 2020–2024, according to Census Bureau QuickFacts. A commute-time average does not reveal each worker’s mode or fare, but it helps place transportation in the broader cost-of-living picture.
For current 2026 fare information, WMATA’s Pay for Metro page lists full-fare weekday Metrorail trips at $2.25 to $6.75. Reduced-fare weekday Metrorail trips cost $1.10 to $3.35. A full-fare weekday evening trip after 9:30 p.m. costs $2.25 to $2.50, while a full-fare weekend trip costs $2.25 to $2.50.
The regular Metrobus fare was $2.25, and the senior or reduced fare was $1.10 under the 2026 current fare schedule. The rail ranges vary by trip conditions, so a single rail fare should not be assumed for every commute. The listed bus and rail fares also do not represent a complete monthly transportation budget.
Property taxes and wage floors
The District’s Property Taxes page, updated December 9, 2025, lists a Class 1A residential real-property tax rate of $0.85 per $100 of assessed value. For Class 1B residential property with no more than two dwelling units, the first $2.5 million of assessed value was taxed at $0.85 per $100, while assessed value above $2.5 million was taxed at $1.00 per $100.
The same page lists a Class 2 commercial-property tax rate of $1.65 per $100 for assessed values of $5 million or less. These classifications and thresholds matter: the residential and commercial figures are not interchangeable, and an assessed value is not automatically the same as a home’s market value.
The District’s Wage and Hour Laws page reports a regular minimum wage of $17.50 per hour beginning July 1, 2024, and $17.95 per hour beginning July 1, 2025. It lists a scheduled regular minimum wage of $18.40 per hour beginning July 1, 2026.
The 2026 wage figure is a scheduled rate, not a claim about an already completed historical period. Read alongside the 2020–2024 income measures, the 2026 HUD rent schedules, and the current 2026 transit fares, it helps distinguish dated estimates, current schedules, and future scheduled policy values when assessing Washington, D.C. living costs.