Renting
Data from November 2026
Renting in the District of Columbia
The typical rent in the District of Columbia is $1,954 a month (Average 2020–2024). HUD’s fair market rent for 2 bedrooms is about $2,438 (Fiscal year 2027, population-weighted average): paying it without spending more than 30% of income takes $46.88 an hour full time. Here are the figures by size and by place, how many households spend too much, and where to ask for help.
Key numbers in the District of Columbia
- Typical rent
- $1,954
- per month, Average 2020–2024
- 38% more than the U.S.
- Fair market rent, 2 BR
- $2,438
- HUD, Fiscal year 2027, weighted average
- Wage needed
- $46.88
- per hour, 2 bedrooms
- About $97,520 a year to stay under 30% of income.
- Burdened households
- 47%
- spend 30% or more on rent
- Nationwide, 51%.
Fair market rent
What HUD sets by size
HUD publishes a fair market rent every year by area and home size; Section 8 and other programs use it to set what they cover. Here it runs from the cheapest to the most expensive area of the District of Columbia, with the hourly wage it takes to pay it without going past 30% of income (40 hours a week).
Includes basic utilities. It is neither the lowest nor the highest rent on the market: it is a reference point.
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Studio
Wage: $40.60 an hour
Lowest: $2,111 Highest: $2,111
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1 bedroom
Wage: $42.38 an hour
Lowest: $2,204 Highest: $2,204
-
2 bedrooms
Wage: $46.88 an hour
Lowest: $2,438 Highest: $2,438
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3 bedrooms
Wage: $59.75 an hour
Lowest: $3,107 Highest: $3,107
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4 bedrooms
Wage: $70.35 an hour
Lowest: $3,658 Highest: $3,658
Each bar runs from the cheapest area to the most expensive; all share one scale that starts at zero. Source: Fair Market Rents (HUD) Fiscal year 2027 Fair Market Rents (HUD) (external site)
Rent burden
How many households spend too much
HUD counts rent as a burden when it reaches 30% of income or more. In the District of Columbia, 47% of renter households are in that position; nationwide, 51% (Average 2020–2024, Census).
Paying too much rent leaves little for food, transportation and savings. If that is you, the agencies below can guide you for free.
47%
of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
189,808 renter households in the District of Columbia
- Spend half or more of their income 24%
- Spend 30% or more, but less than half 23%
- Spend less than 30% 53%
By place
Every place, with its figure
The 2-bedroom fair market rent, the typical rent, the hourly wage it takes and the share of burdened households, in every place in the District of Columbia. Highest fair market rent first.
| District of Columbia | $2,438 | $1,954 | $46.88 | 47% |
|---|
- Columbia $2,438$46.88
Source: Fair Market Rents (HUD) Fiscal year 2027 Fair Market Rents (HUD) (external site) Source: American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates Average 2020–2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates (external site)
Your rights as a tenant in the District of Columbia
What the District of Columbia law says about deposits, notices and eviction, with the citation for each rule.
See your rights, rule by ruleA summary of state law, not legal advice. Cities may have additional rules.
- How much can they charge for a deposit?
- Up to 1 month of rent
- 14 DCMR §308.2
- If I fall behind on rent, what notice must I get?
- 10 days
- D.C. Code §42-3505.01(a-1)(1)
- How much notice ends a month-to-month rental?
- 30 days
- D.C. Code §42-3505.54(a)
- How much notice before a rent increase?
- 60 calendar days
- D.C. Code §42-3509.04(b)
- Only a court order can remove youD.C. Code §§42-3505.01, 42-3505.01a, 16-1501
Help
Where to ask for help with rent in the District of Columbia
Free or official help. Demand usually exceeds funding, so waiting lists are common: ask at the agency for your place.
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17 counseling agencies
HUD-approved; 8 serve in Spanish. They counsel renters for free.
See the agencies -
Tenant rights
Deposits, notices, repairs and evictions under the District of Columbia law.
See your rights
Tool
How much rent can you afford?
Enter your income and compare with the fair market rent in your place.
Frequently asked questions
How many households in the District of Columbia spend too much on rent?
47% of renter households in the District of Columbia spend 30% or more of their income on rent, and 24% spend half or more (Average 2020–2024, Census). Nationwide, 51%.
What is fair market rent?
A figure HUD publishes every year by area and home size; Section 8 and other programs use it to set what they pay. It is not a market price or a cap on landlords. In the District of Columbia, for 2 bedrooms in Fiscal year 2027, it runs from $2,438 to $2,438 depending on the place.
Where do I ask for help paying rent in the District of Columbia?
2 public housing agencies run Section 8 vouchers and public housing in the District of Columbia; demand usually exceeds funding and waiting lists are common. HUD-approved counseling agencies counsel for free. Your place page shows the nearest ones.