Rent vs buy in Washington, DC

In Washington, District of Columbia, typical rent is $2,484 /mo and a typical home is $566,961.

Buy

Over 7 years, buying comes out ahead by $38k

The calculation assumes 20% down and today's mortgage rate, along with Washington's typical figures for rent and home value. You reach break-even in year 5.

Clearly labelled opinion with the math shown. Estimates, not quotes. The stamp updates whenever you change a number.

Ownership comes out ahead by: $38k
Break-even point: year 5
Actual cost of owning: $4,717 /mo

Change my numbers

The stamp relies on typical rent and home value figures for Washington's market. Changing your rent, price or number of years can reverse the result.

Do your numbers differ from the city's?

Enter your rent, home price and down payment. The stamp updates based on those figures.

In Washington, is renting or buying cheaper?

Once sale proceeds are counted, buying is $38,201 cheaper across 7 years. In year 5, owning's net cost falls under renting's and remains lower.

The renting option. The owning option. Net cost to date, by year.

Average rent compared with mortgage payment in Washington

Rent and mortgage payments don't tell the whole story. Here are all monthly costs for year 1 using Washington's typical price.

Each month, year 1	Amount	What it is
Rent	$2,484	All of it, every month
Mortgage payment	$3,091	$2,725 of it is interest in year 1
Property tax	$274	0.58% of the value a year
Insurance	$88	Census median for the city
Upkeep	$472	1% of the value a year
Owning, cash out	$3,926	$367 of it builds equity
Lost return on the down payment	$922	How much the cash would earn each year at 8.3%
Buying costs, spread out	$236	3.5% of the price over 7 years
True cost of owning	$4,717	Cash paid out, minus the equity portion, plus the two lines above

Washington figures behind the verdict

Typical home valueZillow ZHVI, September 2026: $566,961
Typical rentZillow ZORI, September 2026: $2,484 /mo
Down payment20% avoids private mortgage insurance, which the engine does not model: 20%
Mortgage rateFreddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US): 7.24%
Home price growthFHFA house price index, District of Columbia, 1995 to 2025: 5.9% a year
Rent growthCPI rent of primary residence, yearly growth 2006 to 2026: 3.5% a year
Return on savings60% S&P 500 with dividends and 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced yearly, 1928 to 2025: 8.3% a year
Property taxCensus ACS 2020-2024, Washington: 0.58% of value
Home insuranceCensus ACS 2020-2024, Washington: $88 /mo
MaintenanceFannie Mae, low end of 1% to 4%: 1% of value a year
Buying costsFreddie Mac, middle of 2% to 5%: 3.5% of price
Selling costsAgent commission plus closing costs: 6% of price

What would flip the result in Washington?

Every line marks the point where Washington's 7-year verdict changes. All other factors remain the same.

Renting is better when

Our calculation assumes 5.9% annually, District of Columbia's long-run rate, when home prices grow by less than 5.1% each year.
The mortgage rate stays over 8.43%.
A similar home rents for under $2,070 each month. The local typical rent is $2,484.
Before year 5, you move.

Buying wins in these cases

Annual home price growth is above 5.1%.
A mortgage rate below 8.43% is the one you lock in; today's rate is 7.24%.
You would pay more than $2,070 a month to rent the same home.
You remain for 5 years or longer.

How Washington compares with 812 other cities

Measure	Washington	Median city
Typical home value	$566,961	$422,451
Typical rent	$2,484 /mo	$1,837 /mo
Price-to-rent ratio	19.0 (#385 of 813)	18.5
Home prices, last 10 years	1.2% a year	6.2% a year
Rents, last 5 years	2.5% a year	4% a year
Property tax	0.58%	0.87%
Households that rent	58%	42%

Sources: Zillow ZHVI and ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.