How much do households in the Washington, DC area spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About 29.6% of income was spent on rent and utilities in 2018–2022 for a typical household in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area. This was measured by comparing median gross rent, which includes rent and utilities, and median monthly income for renting households. A median, like an average, is a measure of a typical value in a set of numbers.
Showing data for
In 2018–2022, median rent was
29.6%
of median income
In 2018–2022,
$1.9K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Washington, DC area median rent was about $1.9K per month in 2018–2022. Typical monthly income among renting households was about $6.43K per month during that same period.
A typical household spent about $1.9K on rent in the Washington, DC area.
Median rent and median renter household income, 2018–2022
Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates greater affordability.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of median monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
The large metro average rent-to-income ratio was 31.4%.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
The Washington, DC area’s rent-to-income ratio was 29.6% in 2018–2022. The Washington, DC area was considered large, with over 1 million people. The average rent-to-income ratio in large metros was 31.4%, which is 1.8 percentage points higher than that of the Washington, DC area.
Renter income and rent, large metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Atlanta, GA area | $4,480 |
| 2. | Baltimore, MD area | $4,588 |
| 3. | Birmingham, AL area | $3,306 |
| 4. | Boston, MA area | $5,388 |
| 5. | Buffalo, NY area | $3,131 |
| 6. | Charlotte, NC area | $4,307 |
| 7. | Cincinnati, OH area | $3,462 |
| 8. | Cleveland, OH area | $3,222 |
| 9. | Columbus, OH area | $4,100 |
| 10. | Dallas, TX area | $4,738 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
United States Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program and 2 others
