Best PlacesColumbia Heights, Washington, DC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Columbia Heights, Washington, 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.
Columbia Heights, Washington ranks 1,081st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods 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 Columbia Heights, Washington
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.
Columbia Heights, Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbia Heights, Washington ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Columbia Heights, Washington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,143 a month, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Columbia Heights, Washington
A household needs to earn about $202,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbia Heights, Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $124,725, 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 Columbia Heights, Washington's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 Columbia Heights, Washington
Columbia Heights, Washington 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 Columbia Heights, Washington.
Who works in Columbia Heights, Washington, and how
Work in Columbia Heights, Washington centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 24%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 38%
Life in Columbia Heights, Washington
The coast is about 26 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Columbia Heights, Washington, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Columbia Heights, Washington, month by month
Columbia Heights, Washington sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Columbia Heights, Washington
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 5 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
Columbia Heights, Washington 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 Columbia Heights, Washington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Columbia Heights, Washington suits
Common questions about living in Columbia Heights, Washington
Is Columbia Heights, Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbia Heights, Washington ranks 1,081st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, walkability, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Columbia Heights, Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $794,978. The overall cost of living runs about 54% above the national average. Set against a $124,725 median income, cost of living beats 56% of neighborhoods.
Is Columbia Heights, Washington safe?
Columbia Heights, Washington is safer than 24% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $966 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Columbia Heights, Washington?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 30. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of neighborhoods.
Is Columbia Heights, Washington good for families?
Schools beat 45% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $2,143 a month.
Compare Columbia Heights, Washington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbia Heights, Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbia Heights, Washington 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.
Columbia Heights, Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbia Heights, Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbia Heights, Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbia Heights, Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbia Heights, Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbia Heights, Washington 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.