What’s the best part of Washington? It could be where everyone knows their neighbor. Or it could be where home prices are the highest, meaning it’s where everyone wants to live.
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Washington are the best based on Saturday Night Science.
Whether you live in the sticks or in an apartment building downtown, you want a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood offers different perks and benefits.
Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Washington neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?
If you’re thinking of moving to Washington Dc and Washington is on the top of your list, check out the best neighborhoods for 2026.
$178,534 median income · $973,793 median home value
$138,234 median income · $759,100 median home value
$166,149 median income · $1,188,500 median home value
$142,356 median income · $919,342 median home value
$140,259 median income · $948,260 median home value
$176,403 median income · $1,017,370 median home value
$134,859 median income · $1,335,200 median home value
$156,869 median income · $1,083,560 median home value
$115,917 median income · $573,173 median home value
$150,426 median income · $1,056,531 median home value
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington Dc’s statewide median.
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best Washington, DC neighborhoods in 2026
To rank the best neighborhoods in Washington, we had to determine what criteria define “best” and then apply Saturday Night Science to it.
Using FBI crime, Census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- High incomes
- Low unemployment rates
- Low crime
- High home prices
- High population densities (A proxy for things to do)
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 34 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index, the “Best City Neighborhood In Washington.” We’re lookin’ at you, Au-Tenleytown.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Washington, Washington Dc has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from best to worst.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Washington.
The full plate
Table: Best Washington neighborhoods for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Au-Tenleytown | 18,855 | $973,793 | $178,534 |
| 2 | Cleveland Park | 11,732 | $759,100 | $138,234 |
| 3 | The Palisades | 3,598 | $1,188,500 | $166,149 |
| 4 | Chevy Chase | 18,506 | $919,342 | $142,356 |
| 5 | Woodley Park | 7,667 | $948,260 | $140,259 |
| 6 | Barnaby Woods | 9,436 | $1,017,370 | $176,403 |
| 7 | Kalorama | 2,608 | $1,335,200 | $134,859 |
| 8 | Berkley | 2,252 | $1,083,560 | $156,869 |
| 9 | Glover Park | 12,937 | $573,173 | $115,917 |
| 10 | Georgetown | 14,118 | $1,056,531 | $150,426 |
| 11 | Logan Circle | 13,768 | $538,670 | $100,118 |
| 12 | Foxhall Village | 912 | $944,350 | $115,365 |
| 13 | Friendship Heights | 3,065 | $828,100 | $147,242 |
| 14 | Adams Morgan | 17,154 | $529,538 | $101,976 |
| 15 | Mount Pleasant | 12,696 | $552,782 | $91,084 |
| 16 | Dupont Circle | 13,633 | $522,360 | $98,703 |
| 17 | Takoma Park | 5,302 | $751,983 | $154,600 |
| 18 | U Street Corridor | 10,104 | $669,883 | $107,136 |
| 19 | Petworth | 11,886 | $716,475 | $102,992 |
| 20 | Ledroit Park | 11,683 | $599,300 | $94,929 |
| 21 | Foggy Bottom | 16,297 | $364,920 | $66,121 |
| 22 | Brightwood | 16,318 | $600,254 | $81,113 |
| 23 | Shaw | 13,782 | $652,492 | $88,444 |
| 24 | Columbia Heights | 34,835 | $549,242 | $79,273 |
| 25 | Mount Vernon Square | 6,077 | $551,333 | $86,024 |
| 26 | Capitol Hill | 55,592 | $587,596 | $102,238 |
| 27 | Catholic University-Brookland | 57,481 | $437,657 | $77,486 |
| 28 | Fort Totten-Upper Northeast | 24,123 | $409,893 | $69,793 |
| 29 | South West | 11,100 | $376,320 | $73,812 |
| 30 | Downtown | 8,132 | $376,550 | $96,571 |
| 31 | Stadium-Armory | 21,142 | $383,542 | $67,389 |
| 32 | Anacostia | 117,488 | $204,972 | $38,135 |
| 33 | Deanwood | 29,798 | $221,083 | $41,869 |
| 34 | Brentwood | 28,660 | $375,268 | $57,873 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 34 Washington neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: Putting a bow on our analysis of the best neighborhoods in Washington
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Washington where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
The best neighborhoods in Washington are Au-Tenleytown, Cleveland Park, The Palisades, Chevy Chase, Woodley Park, Barnaby Woods, Kalorama, Berkley, Glover Park, and Georgetown.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Washington aren’t all good. Brentwood takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Washington.
We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below. Not sold on Washington Dc? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Neighborhoods In Washington FAQs
What is the best neighborhood in Washington?
Au-Tenleytown is the best neighborhood in Washington for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Cleveland Park and The Palisades are next.
What are the best neighborhoods in Washington?
The best neighborhoods in Washington are Au-Tenleytown, Cleveland Park, The Palisades, Chevy Chase, Woodley Park, Barnaby Woods, Kalorama, Berkley, Glover Park, and Georgetown. We ranked all 34 neighborhoods in the city.
How expensive is Au-Tenleytown?
The median household income in Au-Tenleytown is $178,534 and the median home costs $973,793. The best blocks in Washington rarely come at a discount.
How do you rank Washington neighborhoods?
Each neighborhood is scored on income, home values, population density, unemployment, and crime, using Census tract data. The neighborhood with the best combined score, Au-Tenleytown, takes the top spot.
Which Washington neighborhood ranked last?
Brentwood came in last of the 34 neighborhoods we scored. Every city has a bottom of the table; in Washington the numbers put it there.
