Best PlacesDowntown, Washington, DC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown, Washington, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown, Washington ranks 1,139th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown, 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.
Downtown, Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown, Washington ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown, Washington ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,143 a month, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown, Washington
A household needs to earn about $175,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown, Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $144,937, 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 Downtown, Washington's effective rate of 0.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown, Washington
Downtown, 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 Downtown, Washington.
Who works in Downtown, Washington, and how
Work in Downtown, Washington centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 13%
- Work from home 40%
- Transit, walk, or bike 47%
Life in Downtown, Washington
Downtown, Washington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 24 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown, Washington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown, Washington, month by month
Downtown, 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 Downtown, Washington
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 3 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
Downtown, 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 Downtown, Washington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown, Washington
Is Downtown, Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown, Washington ranks 1,139th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, walkability, and population health, and lowest on crime and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown, Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $703,745. The overall cost of living runs about 61% above the national average. Set against a $144,937 median income, cost of living beats 74% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown, Washington safe?
Downtown, Washington is safer than 3% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $2,013 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown, Washington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown, Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown, 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.
Downtown, Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown, Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown, Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown, Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown, Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown, 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.