Best PlacesTakoma Park, Washington, DC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Takoma Park, 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.
Takoma Park, Washington ranks 540th 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 Takoma Park, 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.
Takoma Park, Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Takoma Park, Washington ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Household income$203,034 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
Where Takoma Park, Washington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,143 a month, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Short commute32.0 minutes each way, better than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Takoma Park, Washington
A household needs to earn about $314,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Takoma Park, Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $203,034, 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 Takoma Park, Washington's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 Takoma Park, Washington
Takoma Park, Washington runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Takoma Park, Washington.
Who works in Takoma Park, Washington, and how
Work in Takoma Park, Washington centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 41%
- Work from home 47%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Takoma Park, Washington
Takoma Park, Washington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 33 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Takoma Park, Washington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Takoma Park, Washington, month by month
Takoma Park, Washington sees roughly 70 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 Takoma Park, Washington
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 9 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
Takoma Park, 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 Takoma Park, Washington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Takoma Park, Washington
Is Takoma Park, Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Takoma Park, Washington ranks 540th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, high incomes, and health care access, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Takoma Park, Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,250,316. The overall cost of living runs about 45% above the national average. Set against a $203,034 median income, cost of living beats 94% of neighborhoods.
Is Takoma Park, Washington safe?
Takoma Park, Washington is safer than 22% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,007 per resident a year.
Compare Takoma Park, Washington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Takoma Park, Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Takoma Park, 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.
Takoma Park, Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Takoma Park, Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Takoma Park, Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Takoma Park, Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Takoma Park, Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Takoma Park, 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.