Welcome to the land of the 1%. Where you’ll find lawyers, and doctors, and business executives. And while they aren’t made of ticky-tacky, they are definitely made of money.
These are the wealthiest neighborhoods that Washington has to offer — where houses go for well over the national median and household incomes follow suit.
But where exactly in Washington do the richest of the rich people live? That would be Au-Tenleytown, where the median income is a cool $178,534.
$178,534 median income
$176,403 median income
$166,149 median income
$156,869 median income
$154,600 median income
$150,426 median income
$147,242 median income
$142,356 median income
$140,259 median income
$138,234 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington Dc’s statewide median.
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the wealthiest neighborhoods in Washington for 2026
Every city has its best neighborhoods — where everyone wants to live — and the worst neighborhoods — where no one wants to live. And then you have the wealthiest neighborhoods, where no one can afford to live.
And by no one, we mean you because there’s always someone richer than you.
How do you quantify richer than you? We looked at one simple criterion:
- Highest median household income
Using Saturday Night Science, we researched income data from the Census and BLS for every neighborhood in Washington.
We ranked every neighborhood in Washington by median income from highest to lowest. The neighborhood with the highest median income, Au-Tenleytown, was named the wealthiest neighborhood in Washington.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the most affluent neighborhoods to live in Washington.
The full plate
Richest neighborhoods in Washington for 2026 by median income
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Au-Tenleytown | $178,534 |
| 2 | Barnaby Woods | $176,403 |
| 3 | The Palisades | $166,149 |
| 4 | Berkley | $156,869 |
| 5 | Takoma Park | $154,600 |
| 6 | Georgetown | $150,426 |
| 7 | Friendship Heights | $147,242 |
| 8 | Chevy Chase | $142,356 |
| 9 | Woodley Park | $140,259 |
| 10 | Cleveland Park | $138,234 |
| 11 | Kalorama | $134,859 |
| 12 | Glover Park | $115,917 |
| 13 | Foxhall Village | $115,365 |
| 14 | U Street Corridor | $107,136 |
| 15 | Petworth | $102,992 |
| 16 | Capitol Hill | $102,238 |
| 17 | Adams Morgan | $101,976 |
| 18 | Logan Circle | $100,118 |
| 19 | Dupont Circle | $98,703 |
| 20 | Downtown | $96,571 |
| 21 | Ledroit Park | $94,929 |
| 22 | Mount Pleasant | $91,084 |
| 23 | Shaw | $88,444 |
| 24 | Mount Vernon Square | $86,024 |
| 25 | Brightwood | $81,113 |
| 26 | Columbia Heights | $79,273 |
| 27 | Catholic University-Brookland | $77,486 |
| 28 | South West | $73,812 |
| 29 | Fort Totten-Upper Northeast | $69,793 |
| 30 | Stadium-Armory | $67,389 |
| 31 | Foggy Bottom | $66,121 |
| 32 | Brentwood | $57,873 |
| 33 | Deanwood | $41,869 |
| 34 | Anacostia | $38,135 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 34 Washington neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The wealthiest pockets of Washington
What’s the richest neighborhood to live in Washington for 2026? According to the most recent census data, Au-Tenleytown looks to be the richest Washington neighborhood to live in.
The richest neighborhoods in Washington are Au-Tenleytown, Barnaby Woods, The Palisades, Berkley, Takoma Park, Georgetown, Friendship Heights, Chevy Chase, Woodley Park, and Cleveland Park.
The poorest neighborhood? That would be Anacostia.
We ranked the neighborhoods from richest to poorest 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
Richest Neighborhoods In Washington FAQs
What is the richest neighborhood in Washington?
Au-Tenleytown is the richest neighborhood in Washington for 2026, with a median household income of $178,534. Barnaby Woods and The Palisades are next.
What are the richest neighborhoods in Washington?
The richest neighborhoods in Washington are Au-Tenleytown, Barnaby Woods, The Palisades, Berkley, Takoma Park, Georgetown, Friendship Heights, Chevy Chase, Woodley Park, and Cleveland Park. We ranked all 34 neighborhoods by median household income, highest to lowest.
How much do people make in Au-Tenleytown?
The median household in Au-Tenleytown earns $178,534 a year, and the median home there is worth $973,793. Those two numbers travel together in most cities, and Washington is no exception.
How do you rank the richest neighborhoods?
One measure: median household income from Census tract data, ranked highest to lowest. No composite score, no adjustments — just where the money lives.
What is the poorest neighborhood in Washington?
Anacostia posts the lowest median household income of the 34 Washington neighborhoods we ranked. It anchors the bottom of the income table above.
