Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. The District of Columbia scores 109.9 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $82,426 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | District of Columbia (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 109.9 | 3rd of 51 |
| Rents | 155.0 | 1st of 51 |
| Goods | 106.5 | — |
| Other services | 103.0 | — |
Home electricity averaged 17.71 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $4.20 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 701,920 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in the District of Columbia, the median pay is $91,540 a year, or $44.01 an hour; that ranks 1st of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $39,650 and one in ten more than $195,190.
The District of Columbia taxes wages in brackets, with a top rate of 10.75%. The brackets in the District of Columbia. A single filer on the median $91,540, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $67,047 a year, or $2,579 every two weeks, after $11,309 of federal income tax, $7,003 of Social Security and Medicare and $6,181 of state income tax. Work out your own paycheck in the District of Columbia.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other | 37,790 | $108,160 |
| General and Operations Managers | 36,150 | $168,000 |
| Lawyers | 33,070 | $195,190 |
| Management Analysts | 19,000 | $126,140 |
| Managers, All Other | 18,570 | $175,720 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are public relations managers ($197,600), lawyers ($195,190), financial managers ($188,880). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Zillow's typical home value in the District of Columbia is $577,055, and typical rent is $2,529 a month. A typical home costs 3.84 years of median family income.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $4,461 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $191,183 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family's income falls short of that. Try it with your own income.
Home values changed −1.7% over the past year and −10.5% over five years, and rents −0.3% over the past year.
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the District of Columbia, that comes to $70,853 a year for one adult and $174,806 for two adults and two children, of which $43,613 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income here is $150,381.
| Two adults, two children | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,446 | $2,204 |
| Food | $15,721 | $1,310 |
| Transportation | $13,068 | $1,089 |
| Healthcare | $22,551 | $1,879 |
| Childcare | $43,613 | $3,634 |
| Other necessities | $13,092 | $1,091 |
| Taxes | $40,315 | $3,360 |
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 23 colleges in the District of Columbia, 2 of them public. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $53,804. Compare degrees and schools.
| District of Columbia | $577,055 | −1.7% | $2,529 | $150,381 | $174,806 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
Washington, DC (typical rent $2,456).
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Cost of living · Income tax · Child care costs
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County figures are medians across the District of Columbia's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.