Washington, DC Apartments for Rent and Washington, DC Rentals

Living in Washington, DC

Hot Homes for Sale

Washington, DC Neighborhoods

Rank #	Name	Walk Score	Transit Score	Bike Score	Population
1	U-Street	99	82	96	11,427
2	Dupont Circle	98	87	96	17,057
3	Mount Vernon Square	97	98	92	6,494
4	Logan Circle-Shaw	97	88	96	21,218
5	Logan Circle	97	88	96	21,218
6	Foggy Bottom-Gwu-West End	97	87	79	16,281
7	Adams Morgan	96	78	90	15,639
8	Columbia Heights	96	79	90	35,322
9	H Street-NoMa	95	82	96	8,315
10	Mount Pleasant	92	76	84	10,443
11	LeDroit Park-Bloomingdale	88	73	81	8,739
12	Capitol Hill	88	78	92	38,802
13	Petworth	86	69	82	20,979
14	Georgetown	85	63	74	16,704
15	Eckington	85	70	90	3,492
16	Trinidad-Langston	83	61	69	14,495
17	Southwest Waterfront	83	73	93	11,444
18	Kingman Park	81	69	94	6,604
19	Glover Park	79	52	54	8,455
20	Brightwood / Manor Park / Takoma	79	65	66	16,676
21	Brightwood-Manor Park	79	65	66	16,676
22	Au Park-Friendship Heights-Tenley	79	61	71	9,341
23	Cathedral-Wesley Heights-McLean Gardens	77	52	55	11,780
24	Cleveland Park	77	63	67	6,594
25	Woodley Park	76	67	76	6,751
26	Brookland	74	67	76	18,794
27	Van Ness-Forest Hills	73	60	52	13,738
28	Brentwood / Brookland / Langdon	71	60	57	7,660
29	Brentwood-Langdon	71	60	57	7,660
30	Benning	69	71	54	8,599
31	Fort Totten-Riggs Park	68	70	55	10,960
32	Colonial Village-Shepherd Park	67	72	53	4,038
33	McMillan Reservoir	61	59	73	776
34	Spring Valley	59	41	48	5,554
35	Michigan Park	58	63	57	7,574
36	Woodridge-Fort Lincoln	57	51	45	6,004
37	Deanwood	57	62	51	8,813
38	Chevy Chase-DC	56	49	53	14,994
39	Congress Heights	54	63	36	38,816
40	River Terrace-Lily Ponds-Mayfair	52	65	67	4,814
41	Fort Dupont	51	57	43	19,875

Moving to Washington, DC from another city?

Eating & Drinking

There are about 2,640 restaurants, bars and coffee shops in Washington, DC.

People in Washington, DC can walk to an average of 5 restaurants, bars and coffee shops in 5 minutes.

Heller's Bakery

Wonderland Bar and Grill

Restaurant Choices Map

= More Choices

thumbnail for National Cathedral School This iconic place should not be missed by any visitor to DC. Regardless of religion, you'll fall in love with the architecture... #cathedralheights

Erik Metzroth
on National Cathedral School

Neighborhood Guides

Thinking of renting an apartment or buying in Washington, DC? Ask our neighborhood guides a question.

WC Smith

WC Smith is a Washington, DC-based multidisciplinary real estate firm. The company has provided integrated real estate services to the Washington metropolitan area and beyond for 45 years.

Ask WC about Washington, DC WC Washington, DC

http://wcsmith.com/DC-Apartments »

NoMa Summer Screen

Canal Park Ice Rink

Park Tavern

Simone Bercu

Ask Simone about Washington, DC Simone Washington, DC

http://www.bercuhomes.com »

Buddhist center

Church on 16th Street

Lafayette Farmer market

Washington, DC is Very Bikeable

Biking is convenient for most trips.

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What's It Like to Live in Washington, DC?

National Cathedral School

Logan Circle

Bartholdi Fountain

Lincoln Memorial

Overview

Diverse, with a thriving local economy and an endless array of things to do – a lot of them free! – and a central location that serves as a hub not just for East coast travel, but as a launching point across the Atlantic…these are just a starting point of what’s great about living in Washington DC.

Much of the work in DC is either directly for or in some way related to the government – legal and financial services, lobbyists, think tanks, and policy related NGOs. Hotel giant Marriott is based in Washington DC, while Capitol One, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and dozens of other defense, research, and finance companies have their headquarters in the greater metropolitan area.

DC is home to one of the largest student populations in the nation; there are 19 colleges and universities in the district – Georgetown, George Washington, Gallaudet, and the Corcoran College of Art and Design along with a handful of religious and political institutions.

Washington DC is located in a region that gets four distinct seasons; it’s famous for the beautiful spring cherry blossoms which cover extensive government building green spaces with a carpet of flower petals, but the change of color in fall is striking and lovely as well. Winters can bring snow storms, but it is the summer heat that challenges the residents – the muggy humid days take some getting used to.

Nearly 20% of the city is dedicated to public parks. That doesn’t include the spectacular array of museums – the Smithsonian, the National Museum of Air and Space, the National Portrait Gallery, the International Spy Museum, and dozens of other cultural institutions. Combine all that culture with a great restaurant scene that’s ethnically diverse, an extensive transit system, international tourist and travelers, and a metro area that’s comprised of interesting neighborhoods and you have a great place to live.

Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Harriet Tubman Elementary School In Washington DC

Getting Around

Residents commonly complain about the lack of parking and about the region’s terrible traffic. Thankfully, you really don’t need a car in DC, in fact, you are probably better off without one. Washington DC’s extensive subway system – Metro – services the entire DC area, reaching out to Alexandria, Arlington, Bethesda as well as many satellite communities. The DC subway also connects to Reagan National Airport. The Washington Flyer connects Metro to Dulles Airport.

Metro also operates the bus service that fills the gaps on the surface streets – and they run a series of limited stop express lines. The DC Circulator runs regular service on very popular routes and there’s a streetcar in the works. MARC and VRE run the commuter rail lines from Maryland and Virginia, into Washington DC.

Capital Bikeshare has a staggering network of bike share stations, not just in DC proper, but in Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Montgomery County – allowing many DC residents to pass on bike ownership and rely exclusively on the Bikeshare program for their fair weather transportation. There are miles of cycle-friendly mixed use trails. Bikestation operates a secure bike parking facility near Union Station; it’s popular with rail commuters that live outside the city but want to do their in-city commuting by bike.

DC has car-sharing services including ZipCar, Hertz on Demand, and Enterprise Car Share, so if you find you need a car for short errands. DC also has a terrific central website (GoDCGo.com) to help you find information about any of your transportation questions.

thumbnail for Logan Circle Logan Circle. A beautiful park surrounded by historic houses with amazing architecture.

loganxart .
on Logan Circle

Neighborhoods

Dupont Circle is a walker’s paradise and is arguably DC’s most walkable neighborhood and is situated over a major transportation hub. Oddball fun fact? The subway station here is home to one of the longest escalators in the world. At street level, the neighborhood is comprised of a mix of historic row houses and some elegant embassy mansions. Dupont Circle is where DC has its annual gay pride parade and is home to a large LGBT population. The ubiquitous row houses occasionally come up for rent, but mostly you’ll be looking at newer high rise buildings, studios and up to two bedroom apartments.

You’d have to try hard to be more than five minutes away from a bus or subway station, a good restaurant or café, or a supermarket – everything is outside your door if you choose to live in Dupont Circle.

The nearby West End has a few supermarkets, is crisscrossed by major bus routes, and is walking distance to the Metro station. Apartments and condos are primarily in larger complexes – so you can find a place with an outdoor pool, a gym, and a gourmet kitchen and roomier living spaces with up to three bedrooms.

NoMa Summer Screen

Gallaudet University

8th & Elder St NW, Washington DC

Malolo Bed and Breakfast

Across the Potomac in Arlington, there are several very walkable neighborhoods. Ballston-Virginia and Clarendon-Courthouse both have direct Metro service into DC on the Orange line. The Coast Guard and the Department of Fish and Wildlife headquarters are in Ballston. There’s a well known food festival here, the Taste of Arlington. Most rentals here are in large apartment buildings though you can find units with up to four bedrooms. There’s a lot of newer construction here compared to some of the in-city neighborhoods, so if you’re looking for modern buildings with amenities, these are good neighborhoods to research.

Single family homes are harder to find in the immediate DC area, you’ll need to look at little further out – Friendship Heights and Chevy Chase are both still on the Metro line. You’ll have to compromise a little bit on walkability, but you’ll be able to park your car and you can find a historic home with a yard and a garage.

Silver Spring, Maryland, has a revitalized urban downtown with a mix of new and older apartment buildings.

To live and work in our nation's capitol, Washington D.C. you can find the perfect Washington D.C. studio where you can stroll tree-lined streets and bike to work on the city's boulevards. Prices are a little lower outside the immediate metropolitan area so if you’re open to a rail commute, it’s worth looking in Maryland, at cities that are on the MARC rail line, or south in Virginia at neighborhoods with stations on the VRE.

55% of people in the DC area currently rent their homes. Walk Score helps you find a two bedroom condo in Georgetown, family rental homes in Tyson's Corner, or a studio apartment in Dupont Circle. Discover places to live by square footage, condos with a view of the National Monument, or near the best DC coffee shops and restaurants.