DC rent among nation’s highest — but apartments are pet friendly

WASHINGTON — The District now ranks as the fourth-most expensive market for apartment rent, behind only San Francisco, San Jose and New York City.

GoBankingRates.com says the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in D.C. is $2,271, likely skewed higher by the city’s wave of luxury apartment construction in recent years.

The median rent for a one-bedroom in San Francisco is $3,395, while it’s $2,505 in San Jose and $2,395 in New York.

D.C. apartments are also the most pet-friendly among big cities, with 44 percent allowing pets.

Also on the plus side, the District has the 10th-lowest utilities cost, the eighth-best walkability score and the second-highest percentage of apartments with a fitness center.

Here are some other facts about D.C.’s apartment market:

  • 54 percent have dishwashers
  • 50 percent have washers and dryers
  • 39 percent have pools
  • 29 percent have a parking garage

The cheapest place to rent an apartment in the nation is El Paso, Texas, where the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is just $555 a month.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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