Best Places20017, DC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 20017, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
20017 ranks 7,635th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 20017
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
20017's strengths and weaknesses
Where 20017 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 20017 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,143 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Short commute30.9 minutes each way, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 20017
A household needs to earn about $182,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 20017 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $122,163, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 20017's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 20017
20017 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 20017.
Who works in 20017, and how
Work in 20017 centers on public administration and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 40%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 30%
Life in 20017
20017 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes. The coast is about 30 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 20017 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 20017, month by month
20017 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 20017
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 6 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
20017 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 20017 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 20017 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 30% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 20017
Is 20017 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 20017 ranks 7,635th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low disaster risk, and walkability, and lowest on childcare costs and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 20017 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $719,008. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $122,163 median income, cost of living beats 63% of zip codes.
Is 20017 safe?
20017 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,001 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 20017?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 28. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 28% of zip codes.
Is 20017 good for families?
Schools beat 28% of zip codes, crime safety beats 7%, and childcare runs $2,143 a month.
Compare 20017 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 20017. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 20017 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
20017 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 20017: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 20017: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 20017: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 20017: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
20017 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.