Washington, the state capital · Photo: Ralf Roletschek - Infos über Fahrräder auf fahrradmonteur.de Wikis in der Ausbildung · CC BY-SA 3.0How Washington, D.C. stacks up
No state reports more violent crime per resident than Washington, D.C.: 806.0 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2025. Spending and results part ways in its schools: 2nd in spending per pupil, 44th on the Nation’s Report Card. That balance adds up to a D overall and 46th place among the 50 states and D.C.
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
51st of 51D−0/100 Crime is a real weak spot. It trails all of its neighbors on safety. Washington, D.C. ranks last in the country on this measure: 806.0 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2025.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places highest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
Schools
51st of 51D−0/100 Among the weakest school results in the country. 27% of students test Proficient on the Nation’s Report Card (8th lowest) and 77% graduate on time (2nd lowest). It spends $33,023 per pupil (2nd) and scores 44th, less than the spending would buy elsewhere. It trails all of its neighbors on schools.
Graduation: 76.5% finish high school on time (class of 2023), 2nd lowest. The grade weighs test results and graduation equally.
Per-pupil spending, $33,023 (2nd highest), is shown for context and not graded.
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
Cost of living
41st of 51C−20/100 Expensive by national standards. Maryland and Virginia all do better on affordability. At $4,312, the typical property-tax bill is the 11th highest among the states.
Home values run 6.7 times the median household income, 3rd highest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
Health
1st of 51A+100/100 Among the healthiest states. Washington, D.C. tops the country on this measure: 13% of adults say their health is fair or poor. No neighbor beats it on health; Maryland comes closest.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
Housing
51st of 51D−0/100 A renters’ state. Washington, D.C. ranks last in the country on this measure: 42% of homes are owner-occupied. Maryland and Virginia all do better on home ownership.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
Natural hazards
1st of 51A+100/100 Nature is gentle here. No neighbor beats it on hazard risk; Maryland comes closest. No state expects less yearly damage from natural hazards, by FEMA’s count than Washington, D.C.: $43 a year for every $100,000 of buildings. Most of that risk is inland flooding (70%), with hurricanes a distant second.
One federal major-disaster declarations since 2015, fewest.
Behind the figure: inland flooding 70%, hurricane 15%, earthquake 7% of FEMA’s expected losses.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
Commute
49th of 51D−4/100 The commute is the toll. At 30.0 minutes, the average commute is the 4th longest among the states. The longest trips start in places like Washington, in the national bottom quarter.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
Growth
6th of 51A90/100 Growing fast. Permits point the other way: 2.6 new homes per 1,000 residents in 2025 (10th fewest). Census counts show the population up 14.6% from 2010 to 2020 (7th fastest). Among its neighbors it does best on growth, with Maryland second.
Builders took out permits for 2.6 homes per 1,000 residents in 2025, 10th fewest.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Washington, D.C. has too few towns of 10,000+ to compare town by town; its grade rests on the official figure.
How Washington, D.C. compares to its neighbors
Against Maryland and Virginia, Washington, D.C. leads on health, natural hazards and growth but trails on safety, schools and cost of living.
| Washington, D.C. | Maryland | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | D 1046th of 51 | B− 4628th of 51 | A− 7812th of 51 |
| Safety | D− 051st official · 0% in top towns | C− 2434th official · 1% in top towns | B 587th official · 3% in top towns |
| Schools | D− 044th official · 0% in top towns | B 5820th official · 11% in top towns | A− 8021st official · 17% in top towns |
| Cost of living | C− 2041st official · 0% in top towns | C+ 4039th official · 25% in top towns | C+ 4427th official · 10% in top towns |
| Health | A+ 1001st official · 100% in top towns | A− 7618th official · 29% in top towns | B+ 7420th official · 32% in top towns |
| Housing | D− 051st official · 0% in top towns | A− 8223rd official · 21% in top towns | B− 5427th official · 14% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | A+ 1001st official · 100% in top towns | A+ 982nd official · 98% in top towns | A 908th official · 72% in top towns |
| Commute | D− 448th official · 0% in top towns | D− 250th official · 1% in top towns | C− 2042nd official · 13% in top towns |
| Growth | A 907th official · 100% in top towns | B 5623rd official · 27% in top towns | B− 5419th official · 19% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work