These Are The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Washington, DC For 2018

Do you like your neighborhood? Is it friendly, and where everyone knows their neighbors? No matter if you live in the sticks or in an apartment building in downtown Washington, you have a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood is different.

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?

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. If you’re in one of the places we’re about to highlight, odds are you know you’ve got it made.

Here are the best neighborhoods in Washington for 2018:

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

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.

If you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Washington Dc check out:

• 10 Safest Places In District Of Columbia

How do you determine the top neighborhoods in Washington for 2018?

In order to rank the best neighborhoods in Washington, we had to determine what criteria defines a ‘best’.

Using 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 limited the analysis to neighborhoods with over 1,000 people.

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 33 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, Kalorama.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Washington has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from best to worst.

1. Kalorama

Population: 2,459
Median Income: $122,740
Median Home Value: $858,126

The Kalorama area within the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. includes the residential neighborhoods of Kalorama Triangle and Sheridan-Kalorama. The area is accessible from the Dupont Circle and Woodley Park Metro stations, as well as various bus lines. Kalorama Triangle is bordered by Connecticut Avenue, Columbia Road, Calvert Street, and Rock Creek Park. Sheridan-Kalorama is adjacent, to the southwest, located between Connecticut Avenue, Rock Creek Park, Massachusetts Avenue, and Florida Avenue.
More on Kalorama: Real Estate | Data

2. Barnaby Woods

Population: 9,171
Median Income: $179,210
Median Home Value: $906,950

Barnaby Woods is a neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., wedged between Rock Creek Park and Montgomery County, Maryland. It is bounded on the north by Aberfoyle Place, on the west by Western Avenue, on the south by Tennyson Street, and on the east by Oregon Avenue. Barnaby Woods is entirely residential, with no commercial zoning whatsoever, and the housing consists primarily of 1930s colonial homes on large parcels of land although on Unicorn Lane NW there are only townhouses.
More on Barnaby Woods: Real Estate | Data

3. Au-Tenleytown

Population: 18,846
Median Income: $175,213
Median Home Value: $835,779

Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, D.C.
More on Au-Tenleytown: Real Estate | Data

4. Cleveland Park

Population: 11,602
Median Income: $114,072
Median Home Value: $652,437

Cleveland Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is located at 385611N 77358W and bounded approximately by Rock Creek Park to the east, Wisconsin and Idaho Avenues to the west, Klingle and Woodley Roads to the south, and Rodman and Tilden Streets to the north. Its main commercial corridor lies along Connecticut Avenue, NW, where the eponymous Cleveland Park station of the Washington Metro’s Red Line can be found; another commercial corridor lies along Wisconsin Avenue. The neighborhood is known for its many late 19th century homes and the historic Art Deco Uptown Theater. It is also home to the William L. Slayton House and the Park and Shop, built in 1930 and one of the earliest strip malls.
More on Cleveland Park: Real Estate | Data

5. Woodley Park

Population: 7,406
Median Income: $125,072
Median Home Value: $844,801

Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC. It is bounded on the north by Woodley Road and Klingle Road, on the east by the National Zoo and Rock Creek Park, on the south by Calvert Street, on the southwest by Cleveland Avenue, and on the west by 34th Street.
More on Woodley Park: Real Estate | Data

6. Georgetown

Population: 14,156
Median Income: $138,516
Median Home Value: $775,019

Georgetown is a historic neighborhood and a commercial and entertainment district located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 in the Province of Maryland, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years. Georgetown remained a separate municipality until 1871, when the United States Congress created a new consolidated government for the whole District of Columbia. A separate act passed in 1895 specifically repealed Georgetown’s remaining local ordinances and renamed Georgetown’s streets to conform with those in the City of Washington.
More on Georgetown: Real Estate | Data

7. Chevy Chase

Population: 18,413
Median Income: $128,985
Median Home Value: $810,458

Chevy Chase is a neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. It borders Chevy Chase, Maryland, a collection of similarly affluent neighborhoods.
More on Chevy Chase: Real Estate | Data

8. The Palisades

Population: 3,475
Median Income: $161,776
Median Home Value: $953,917

The Palisades, or simply Palisades, is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River, running roughly from the edge of the Georgetown University campus to the D.C.-Maryland boundary. MacArthur Boulevard is the main thoroughfare that passes through the Palisades.
More on The Palisades: Real Estate | Data

9. Friendship Heights

Population: 2,904
Median Income: $127,658
Median Home Value: $799,800

Friendship Heights is an urban commercial and residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. Though its borders are not clearly defined, Friendship Heights consists roughly of the neighborhoods and commercial areas around Wisconsin Avenue north of Fessenden Street NW and Tenleytown to Somerset Terrace and Willard Avenue in Maryland, and from River Road in the west to Reno Road and 41st Street in the east. Within Maryland west of Wisconsin Avenue is the so-called ‘Village of Friendship Heights,’ technically a special taxation district.
More on Friendship Heights: Real Estate | Data

10. Berkley

Population: 2,319
Median Income: $160,093
Median Home Value: $928,740

Berkley is a neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is sometimes referred to as Foxhall Crescents, after a housing development built within the neighborhood.
More on Berkley: Real Estate | Data

Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of Washington

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Washington where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious, here are the worst places in Washington:

1. Stadium-Armory
2. Ledroit Park
3. Columbia Heights

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Neighborhoods In Washington

Rank	Neighborhood	Population	Home Prices	Crimes Per 100k	Unemployment Rate
1	Kalorama	2,459	$858,126	2,312	1.5%
2	Barnaby Woods	9,171	$906,950	2,312	2.5%
3	Au-Tenleytown	18,846	$835,779	2,312	2.9%
4	Cleveland Park	11,602	$652,437	2,312	2.5%
5	Woodley Park	7,406	$844,801	2,312	2.4%
6	Georgetown	14,156	$775,019	2,312	2.8%
7	Chevy Chase	18,413	$810,458	2,312	2.7%
8	The Palisades	3,475	$953,917	2,312	2.6%
9	Friendship Heights	2,904	$799,800	2,314	2.0%
10	Berkley	2,319	$928,740	2,312	2.7%
11	Glover Park	13,001	$567,400	2,907	2.6%
12	Takoma Park	5,041	$708,300	2,981	3.8%
13	Dupont Circle	13,972	$540,207	3,062	2.1%
14	U Street Corridor	9,799	$592,983	3,508	3.9%
15	Logan Circle	13,360	$514,130	3,262	3.7%
16	Capitol Hill	52,181	$530,582	4,701	5.9%
17	Mount Vernon Square	5,264	$459,833	4,974	4.3%
18	Petworth	11,791	$618,292	4,653	6.9%
19	Adams Morgan	16,510	$538,406	3,662	4.9%
20	Mount Pleasant	11,933	$579,373	4,396	5.5%
21	Anacostia	110,610	$203,680	8,917	13.8%
22	Deanwood	27,514	$200,508	8,879	12.0%
23	Brightwood	15,553	$532,508	5,624	6.3%
24	Downtown	8,177	$354,550	4,605	4.1%
25	Brentwood	27,501	$319,182	7,694	11.2%
26	South West	10,350	$326,680	6,021	5.8%
27	Catholic University-Brookland	54,553	$381,053	7,081	9.7%
28	Foggy Bottom	15,970	$341,890	5,700	2.6%
29	Fort Totten-Upper Northeast	23,924	$373,632	7,138	8.6%
30	Shaw	12,508	$552,608	4,930	5.9%
31	Columbia Heights	35,739	$507,721	5,825	5.6%
32	Ledroit Park	11,055	$513,970	5,756	6.6%
33	Stadium-Armory	20,783	$365,474	7,198	9.1%