New York composite
35.4 /100
Grade F · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
New York vs Washington
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 35.4
- New York Life Score
- F
- New York grade
- 26.2
- Washington Life Score
- F
- Washington grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, New York scores higher on 4 (wages, safety, childcare, environment) and Washington on 3 (cost of living, rent, schools). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ New York Washington ◗
cost of living
1
4
wages
99
99
rent
5
5
safety
39
0
schools
6
11
childcare
19
0
environment
63
39
New York and Washington differ across eleven dimensions of livability. New York has a cost-of-living index of 112.6 vs Washington's 108.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $87,148 in New York and $82,744 in Washington. A 2-bedroom averages $2,324/mo vs $2,246/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the New York vs Washington Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between New York and Washington works out to $936 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in New York carries the same local purchasing power as $96,732 in Washington - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 380.0 per 100,000 residents in NY vs 1015.2 in DC, with property-crime rates of 1661.2 and 3725.9 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: NY lists 4,812 public schools at a 11.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while DC lists 243 schools at 12.3:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $13,869/yr in the New York area versus $25,480/yr in Washington - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, New York and Washington are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Washington composite
26.2 /100
Grade F · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
24 pts
New York cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
39 pts
New York safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
New York
New York composite (Grade F)
Washington
Washington composite (Grade F)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | New York | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 112.6 | 108.9 |
| Goods | 110.3 | 104.8 |
| Services | 127.0 | 106.7 |
| Rents | 148.6 | 151.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Washington gives the same purchasing power as your salary in New York?
$
Equivalent in Washington:
$96,732
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (New York: 112.6, Washington: 108.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | New York | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,778/mo | $1,953/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $2,024/mo | $2,015/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,324/mo | $2,246/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,835/mo | $2,835/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $3,618/mo | $3,332/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | New York | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $87,148 | $82,744 |
| Total Employment | 9,414,820 | 3,082,600 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | New York (NY) | Washington (DC) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 380.0 | 1015.2 |
| Property Crime | 1661.2 | 3725.9 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | NY | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 4,812 | 243 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 11.8:1 | 12.3:1 |
| Charter Schools | 7.1% | 51.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | NY | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $13,869/yr | $25,480/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $12,979/yr | $23,431/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $11,679/yr | $20,410/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | NY | DC |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 697 | 12 |
| Water Systems | 2,242 | 11 |
| Superfund Sites | 122 | 1 |
| Water Violations | 5,536 | 38 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | New York | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 53.0 | 47.0 |
| Good Air Days | 42.2% | 59.5% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 25 days | 7 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | NY | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 7/100 | 0/100 |
| Total Violations | 552,003 | 263 |
| Health-Based Violations | 26,817 | 72 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.4% | 100.0% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | NY | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 99/100 | 100/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 0.6% | 0.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 560 | 31 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | NY | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 37/100 | 0/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 69.4 | 97.6 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 70.4 | 97.6 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New York more expensive than Washington? ▼
New York has a cost of living index of 112.6 compared to Washington's 108.9 (national average = 100). New York is 3.7 points above Washington on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between New York and Washington? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $2,324/mo in New York vs $2,246/mo in Washington, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,778/mo to $1,953/mo.
How do salaries compare between New York and Washington? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $87,148 in New York and $82,744 in Washington, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in New York has the same purchasing power as $96,732 in Washington.
Is New York or Washington safer? ▼
At the state level, NY has a violent crime rate of 380.0 per 100,000 residents compared to DC's 1015.2 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1661.2 vs 3725.9 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between New York and Washington? ▼
NY has 4,812 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.8:1, while DC has 243 schools at 12.3:1. Charter schools make up 7.1% of NY schools vs 51.9% in DC. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare