The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Washington, DC For 2024


The best Washington neighborhoods are Au-Tenleytown and Cleveland Park for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Best Neighborhoods In Washington
Source: Public domain

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 2024.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Neighborhoods In Washington For 2024

  1. Au-Tenleytown
  2. Cleveland Park
  3. The Palisades
  4. Chevy Chase
  5. Barnaby Woods
  6. Woodley Park
  7. Kalorama
  8. Glover Park
  9. Berkley
  10. Georgetown

So what’s the best neighborhood to live in Washington for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Au-Tenleytown looks to be the best Washington neighborhood to live in.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Washington that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Washington.

The 10 Best Neighborhoods To Live In Washington

Au-Tenleytown Washington, DC

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 18,855
Median Home Value: $973,793 (Sixth best)
Median Income: $178,534 (best)
More on Au-Tenleytown: Data | Real Estate

Cleveland Park Washington, DC

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 11,732
Median Home Value: $759,100 (11th best)
Median Income: $138,234 (Tenth best)
More on Cleveland Park: Data | Real Estate

The Palisades Washington, DC

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 3,598
Median Home Value: $1,188,500 (Second best)
Median Income: $166,149 (Third best)
More on The Palisades: Data | Real Estate

Chevy Chase Washington, DC

Source: Flickr User NCinDC | CC BY-ND 2.0

Population: 18,506
Median Home Value: $919,342 (Ninth best)
Median Income: $142,356 (Eighth best)
More on Chevy Chase: Data | Real Estate

Population: 9,436
Median Home Value: $1,017,370 (Fifth best)
Median Income: $176,403 (Second best)
More on Barnaby Woods: Data | Real Estate

Woodley Park Washington, DC

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 7,667
Median Home Value: $948,260 (Seventh best)
Median Income: $140,259 (Ninth best)
More on Woodley Park: Data | Real Estate

Kalorama Washington, DC

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 2,608
Median Home Value: $1,335,200 (best)
Median Income: $134,859 (11th best)
More on Kalorama: Data | Real Estate

Population: 12,937
Median Home Value: $573,173 (19th best)
Median Income: $115,917 (12th best)
More on Glover Park: Data | Real Estate

Berkley Washington, DC

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 2,252
Median Home Value: $1,083,560 (Third best)
Median Income: $156,869 (Fourth best)
More on Berkley: Data | Real Estate

Georgetown Washington, DC

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 2.5

Population: 14,118
Median Home Value: $1,056,531 (Fourth best)
Median Income: $150,426 (Sixth best)
More on Georgetown: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Washington, DC Neighborhoods In 2024

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 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Washington.

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, Barnaby Woods, Woodley Park, Kalorama, Glover Park, Berkley, 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.

The worst neighborhoods in Washington are Brentwood, Deanwood, Anacostia, Stadium-Armory, and South West.

We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below.

Best Neighborhoods To Live In Washington For 2024 Detailed Data

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 Barnaby Woods 9,436 $1,017,370 $176,403
6 Woodley Park 7,667 $948,260 $140,259
7 Kalorama 2,608 $1,335,200 $134,859
8 Glover Park 12,937 $573,173 $115,917
9 Berkley 2,252 $1,083,560 $156,869
10 Georgetown 14,118 $1,056,531 $150,426
11 Foxhall Village 912 $944,350 $115,365
12 Logan Circle 13,768 $538,670 $100,118
13 Friendship Heights 3,065 $828,100 $147,242
14 Adams Morgan 17,154 $529,538 $101,976
15 Dupont Circle 13,633 $522,360 $98,703
16 Mount Pleasant 12,696 $552,782 $91,084
17 U Street Corridor 10,104 $669,883 $107,136
18 Takoma Park 5,302 $751,983 $154,600
19 Petworth 11,886 $716,475 $102,992
20 Ledroit Park 11,683 $599,300 $94,929
21 Shaw 13,782 $652,492 $88,444
22 Foggy Bottom 16,297 $364,920 $66,121
23 Brightwood 16,318 $600,254 $81,113
24 Mount Vernon Square 6,077 $551,333 $86,024
25 Columbia Heights 34,835 $549,242 $79,273
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 Downtown 8,132 $376,550 $96,571
30 South West 11,100 $376,320 $73,812
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
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.