Washington, DC population, income and ZIP codes

Washington city is a major city in District of Columbia, with 672,079 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it first of 1 ranked by population. The median age here is 34.9 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Washington city earn a median of $106,287 a year, 35.3% above the national figure of $78,538 and within a couple of points of the $106,287 median for the 1 District of Columbia cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 14.5% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Washington city is valued at $724,600, 138.8% above the national figure and within a couple of points of the $724,600 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,900 a month, 35.1% above the national figure, or roughly $22,800 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 21.5% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 6.8×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 41.1% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, a renter-majority market, so rent figures matter more here than the home-value line. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.

Home values sit at 6.8× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere. Median income runs above the national figure while poverty also runs above it — a split distribution, not a uniformly comfortable place. Averages hide that; the two numbers together do not.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.