AnswerIn Washington, the median household income is $106,287. To rank in the top 20%, you need to earn more than $235,940. Top 5%: $687,000.
Median: $106,287 · Top 20%: $235,940 · Top 5%: $687,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates
Washington income percentile [2026]
Where Washington, District of Columbiahouseholds rank by income — sourced from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates, covering roughly 672,079 residents.
In Washington, DC, the median household income is $106,287. The bottom 20% earns under $37,090; the top 20% threshold is $235,940; the top 5% starts at $687,000. Median rent is $1,900/month and the median home value is $724,600. A $100,000 household income ranks at roughly the 46th percentile locally.
Key stats for Washington
Income percentile breakpoints
- 20th percentile (bottom quintile)
- $37,090
- 40th percentile
- $81,976
- Median (≈ 50th–60th percentile)
- $138,274
- 80th percentile (top 20%)
- $235,940
- 95th percentile (top 5%) — estimated
- $687,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. City-level p60 is used as the “median-ish” row because ACS quintile upper limits bracket the household median near p60 for most big US cities. The Census Bureau top-codes its top-5% figure at $250,001 for high-income cities, so the 95th-percentile value here is estimated by fitting a Pareto tail to Washington's lower (un-top-coded) quintile breakpoints. Treat it as a modeled upper-tail benchmark, not a published ACS figure.
Local economic context
Washington, DC has the most recession-resistant income base of any large US city, because its anchor employer — the federal government — does not lay off in downturns the way private industry does. Around the federal core orbits an enormous professional-services economy: defense and intelligence contractors (Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, General Dynamics, much of it across the river in Northern Virginia), the largest concentration of lobbying and trade-association jobs in the country, and the white-shoe law firms that exist to work the regulatory state. Add Georgetown, Howard, and George Washington universities, a growing biotech and cybersecurity layer, and Danaher's corporate headquarters, and you get a city where a six-figure household income is closer to ordinary than exceptional. DC's own income tax is steeply progressive, topping out near 10.75% on high earners — a meaningful bite that pushes many high earners across the river to Virginia (lower, flatter) or Maryland. Housing is expensive but, unusually for the Northeast Corridor, often buyable: a renovated rowhouse in Capitol Hill, Petworth, or Columbia Heights runs $800K–$1.3M, and a 2BR condo in a decent neighborhood clears $600K. Commute reality is the Metro — WMATA's color-line subway, expansive but plagued by maintenance shutdowns — plus the chronic I-495 Beltway, I-66, and George Washington Parkway congestion, and the VRE and MARC commuter rail for those who flee to the exurbs for cheaper houses. The cost-of-living caveat: BEA RPP for the DC metro runs near 110–112% of national, driven by housing and the high local tax stack. The compensating feature is stability — DC household incomes don't crater in recessions, and the federal-contractor ecosystem provides a salary floor most cities can't match.
What this income feels like
Top 20% in DC is a dual-income policy-and-professional household — one in government or a contractor, one in law, consulting, or an association — that owns a rowhouse in Petworth or Capitol Hill or rents a sleek 1BR in Logan Circle for around $2,400. You Metro to work and complain about single-tracking on weekends, you pay DC's steep local income tax (or moved to Arlington to dodge it), and your social calendar is suspiciously full of policy-adjacent happy hours. Childcare runs $2,200–$2,800/month. The job is stable in a way coastal tech never is — the federal anchor doesn't blink in a downturn.
Top 20% reality check
- DC income is recession-resistant in a way no other big city's is — the federal payroll and contractor base don't shed jobs in downturns, so the salary floor holds.
- DC's progressive local income tax tops out near 10.75%, which is exactly why so many high earners live in Arlington or Bethesda and commute in.
- A renovated rowhouse in Capitol Hill or Petworth is genuinely buyable on a top-20% income — the Northeast Corridor's rare case where a single-family in the city isn't a fantasy.
Cost-of-living reality
The median gross rent in Washington is $1,900/month, or roughly 21.5% of the median household income on an annualized basis. The national rent-burden average is about 30%, and anything north of that is treated as rent-burdened by HUD. Washington's median home value is $724,600, a price-to-income ratio of 6.8× — healthy markets run 3–4×, expensive coastal markets routinely exceed 6×. Mean one-way commute is 30.3 minutes, which compounds the real cost of living here for anyone not working remote.
Nearby cities
Washington community discussions
Local subreddits where cost-of-living and income questions get answered by residents. External links, open in a new tab.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good income in Washington?
In Washington, DC, the median household income is $106,287. Earning above $138,274 puts you in the top 40%, and clearing $235,940 places you in the top 20%. A "good" income depends on household size and housing choice, but $235,940 is a useful upper-middle-class threshold for this city.
How does Washington's median income compare to the US?
Washington's median household income of $106,287 is about 35.3% higher than the US median of $78,538 (ACS 2023 5-year, matched to the city vintage). Raw comparisons understate local cost-of-living; Washington's median rent of $1,900 and median home value of $724,600 are the relevant offsets.
What percentile is $100K in Washington?
A household income of $100,000 ranks at roughly the 46th percentile in Washington. That is interpolated from the local ACS quintile breakpoints: p20 $37,090, p40 $81,976, p60 $138,274, p80 $235,940, p95 $687,000.
Is Washington expensive to live in?
Median gross rent in Washington is $1,900/month, which is 21.5% of the median household income on an annualized basis — compared to the national rent-burden average of about 30%. The median home value is $724,600, a price-to-income ratio of 6.8× (healthy markets run 3-4×, expensive markets 6×+).
How is this calculated?
Figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-year estimates for Washington, District of Columbia. Income percentiles are city-level approximations derived from ACS B19080 household income quintile upper limits, interpolated from the local median and distribution. Rent burden uses B25071 (median gross rent as % of household income) and mean commute uses B08303.
Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between tabulated cells. Figures are in the dollars of each dataset's reference year unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.