Washington, DC
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Washington ranks 1st for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 3rd for income. A household earns $126,244 a year while median rent runs $2,037/mo, making it comfortably affordable for what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 9% above the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is affordability (1st of 300), while commute is the soft spot (295th). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 287th and home prices 275th among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in Washington, your take-home is worth about $53,141 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it less than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 3rd of 300↑19.5%$126,244
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 287th of 300109 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $115,944
- Per-capita income
- $63,559
- Full-time pay
- $66,487
Housing
- Median rent
- 287th of 300↑19.3%$2,037/mo
- Home value
- 275th of 300↑35.5%$604,800
- Property tax
- $5,430/yr · 0.9%
- Sales tax
- 6.00%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 129th of 3004.2%
- Bachelor's+
- 5th of 30055.5%
- Avg commute
- 295th of 30033.8 min
People
- Population
- 6,437,907
- Population change
- +2.5%
- Median age
- 38.3 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 24.7%
- Broadband
- 95.4%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 185th of 30049
- Natural-hazard loss
- 7th of 300$6/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 26th of 30015.3%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 8.9%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. EPA, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14. ↑↓ mark the change since 2019.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Affordability
- + Household income
- + Education
- + Hazard safety
- + Health
Watch-outs
- – Cost of living
- – Rent
- – Home prices
- – Commute
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — washington dulles intl ap.
What jobs pay in Washington
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- Family medicine physicians
- $225,140
- IT managers
- $195,190
- Lawyers
- $195,190
- Financial managers
- $185,270
- General & operations managers
- $156,460
- Software developers
- $154,930
- Pharmacists
- $150,540
- Web developers
- $134,350
- Registered nurses
- $102,710
- Accountants & auditors
- $102,140
- Civil engineers
- $101,780
- Police officers
- $84,000
- Secondary school teachers
- $80,300
- Elementary school teachers
- $79,470
- Electricians
- $75,930
- Plumbers
- $71,860
- Carpenters
- $60,800
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $59,820
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $57,240
- Construction laborers
- $47,430
- Customer service reps
- $46,220
- Waiters & waitresses
- $46,040
- Janitors
- $37,840
- Retail salespersons
- $36,610
- Cashiers
- $35,470
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Where new residents move from
The states sending the most people to the Washington metro, by estimated movers (U.S. Census 2022 migration flows, 5-year). Moves from elsewhere in District of Columbia are excluded to show where out-of-state arrivals originate.
- California15,277
- New York15,236
- Florida13,922
- Texas10,321
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like Washington
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Washington metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Washington metro?
- Median gross rent across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area is $2,037 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Washington.
- What is the median household income in the Washington metro?
- A typical household in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area earns $126,244 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Washington expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area runs about 9% above the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are higher than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the Washington metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $115,944 (versus its face value of $126,244). CityLedger rates the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area comfortably affordable for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Washington metro?
- The median home value across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area is $604,800 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Washington metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area is 4.2% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).