State profile
District of Columbia Cost of Living Comparison
The District of Columbia's 2024 price level is 109.901, third-highest of 51 jurisdictions, and its rent parity of 154.984 is the highest in the country.
Updated
109.901District of Columbia all-items price level, U.S. = 100 · rank 49 of 51, lowest first
| Measure | District of Columbia | Hawaii | First − second |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-items price level | 109.901 | 109.951 | −0.050 points |
| Rent price level | 154.984 | 125.304 | +29.680 points |
| Home value | $737,100±$10,625 | $839,100±$5,924 | −$102,000 |
| Two-bedroom gross rent | $2,083±$86 | $1,996±$32 | +$87 |
| Household income | $109,870±$1,937 | $100,389±$1,121 | +$9,481 |
| Real estate taxes paid | $4,312±$97 | $2,239±$31 | +$2,073 |
$4,000 of monthly spending in District of Columbia scales to $4,002 in Hawaii at the 2024 all-items price ratio.
BEA 2024 and ACS 2020–2024; ± marks the Census 90% margin. How to read a gap
The District: top rents, top incomes, a city-state tax base
Rents define the District. Its housing parity is 54.98% above the national level, the highest of all 51 jurisdictions, and the two-bedroom gross-rent median of $2,083 ranks second. Goods (106.502) and utilities (112.821) are also above the U.S. level, but neither approaches the rent premium.
Incomes are the highest anywhere. The median household income of $109,870 ranks first, and so does real per capita personal income at $81,872, which is already adjusted for the District's prices and is 38.3% above the U.S. figure of $59,195. That is why renters, despite the rents, spend 28.6% of income on gross rent, a share that ranks only 37th. Owners with a mortgage report the highest median monthly costs in the set, $3,128.
The tax table needs a caveat. The District government is a city and a state at once, so its collections include taxes that elsewhere would go to counties and cities. Property tax supplied 26.4% of fiscal 2025 collections, $4,294 per resident, and total collections reached $16,235 per resident, rank 1 by a wide margin. Comparing that figure with a state government's collections overstates the gap, because state tables leave local property and sales taxes out.
The relative price level peaked at 112.594 in 2022 and has eased to 109.901, a net change of minus 0.980 since 2020.
Across the line, both neighbours are cheaper. Maryland's price level is 104.959 and its two-bedroom median $1,740, which is $343 a month less than the District; Virginia's is 101.104, with a median of $1,481, $602 less. Hawaii (109.951) is the closest price level anywhere.
Category price levels in District of Columbia
| Category | Parity | Rank, low first | vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 109.901 | 49 | 9.90% above |
| Goods | 106.502 | 48 | 6.50% above |
| Housing (rents) | 154.984 | 51 | 54.98% above |
| Utilities | 112.821 | 40 | 12.82% above |
| Other services | 102.964 | 46 | 2.96% above |
| Real income per person, 2017 $ | $81,872 | 1 | U.S. $59,195 |
All items by year: 2020 110.881 · 2021 111.572 · 2022 112.594 · 2023 110.713 · 2024 109.901 (−0.980 since 2020). How to read categories and trends
Monthly housing costs
- Owners with a mortgage
- $3,128±$53 · rank 1, high first
- Owners without a mortgage
- $899±$48 · rank 6
- Renters: gross rent / income
- 28.6%±0.4 · rank 37
District of Columbia state tax collections, FY2025
$11.26 billion in total, $16,235 per resident. Scope of these figures
| Tax | FY2025 | Share | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual income | $3.61 billion | 32.0% | $5,197 |
| General sales | $2.09 billion | 18.5% | $3,012 |
| Property | $2.98 billion | 26.4% | $4,294 |
| Motor fuel | $33.0 million | 0.3% | $48 |
| Other selective sales | $578.5 million | 5.1% | $834 |
| Corporate income | $1.24 billion | 11.0% | $1,781 |
| Licenses | $239.1 million | 2.1% | $345 |
| Severance | not levied | ||
| Other taxes | $503.1 million | 4.5% | $725 |
District of Columbia beside its neighbours
| Jurisdiction | All items | Rents | Goods | 2BR rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 109.901 | 154.984 | 106.502 | $2,083 |
| Maryland | 104.959 | 121.079 | 102.524 | $1,740 |
| Virginia | 101.104 | 106.799 | 100.368 | $1,481 |
Beyond its two borders, the nearest 2024 all-items price levels to District of Columbia:
Before you budget a move
Treat a District of Columbia apartment, a Maryland apartment and a Virginia apartment as three address budgets. A commute into the District does not turn a suburban lease into the District's rental population. The District’s all-items index and rental-housing index describe its own geography; use the state guides for an address across either border.
For a two-bedroom District rental search, the ACS benchmark includes tenant-paid utilities under the gross-rent definition. Ask which charges the advertised lease already covers, then add only the separate bills. If moving for a federal or private-sector offer, use the actual annual income after approved taxes and consistent benefits; the District’s household-income median includes households with different numbers of earners.
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