Hope Park Mill and Miller's House · Photo: Historic American Buildings Survey · Public domainEven on the area’s higher pay, Braddock costs more to live in than 91% of U.S. towns
It ranks #237 of 253 in Virginia for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Braddock’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($127K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 15% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 66% of renters.
In dollars
- $2,640a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 109prices across the Washington metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 151)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 7.4 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$127K, Washington-area income
- 23%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 66%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Virginia: 49%Census 2020–24
- 15%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Braddock, in brief
About half of homes sell above asking
In September, 45% of the homes that sold went for more than the asking price and 66% went under contract within two weeks. There were about 1.3 months of homes for sale at that pace, against 3.2 across Virginia: 9 listings for 7 sales that month. Expect competition on well-priced homes. How fast homes sell ↓
About two in three renters are stretched
66% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 49% across Virginia. That’s despite a standard two-bedroom costing just 15% of the median household income, so renters here earn far less than the typical household. Renting ↓
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 1.02% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 0.73% across Virginia. The median bill is $9,643 (Virginia: $2,790). On the typical home, that’s about $930 a month. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Braddock, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Braddock’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Braddock is more affordable than 9% of U.S. towns, #237 of 253 in Virginia. Property tax pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Home prices up 39% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Braddock rose 39% over the past 5 years, slower than across Virginia (49%). Last year prices rose 1.5%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Braddock home at roughly $1,093,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $1.09M.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Braddock, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 7 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 7.4 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Braddock’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $607K short of a typical Braddock home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,640 a month here, $4,030 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Braddock’s typical property tax (1.02% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,640
Renters already here pay a median of $2,419.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Property tax runs above the Virginia norm
The median bill is $9,643 (Virginia: $2,790), 1.02% of a home’s value a year, against 0.73% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Braddock
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, or Virginia. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 109 | VA 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 105 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 107 | VA 92 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 102 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Braddock vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Braddock. Union Mill and Fairfax Station and Kings Park West and George Mason have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braddock | D | — | $942K | 1.02% | $2,640 |
| Union Mill | C | — | $961K | 1.04%+ | $2,510 |
| Fairfax Station | D | — | $897K | 0.97% | $2,610 |
| George Mason | D | — | $728K | 0.99% | $2,630 |
| Kings Park West | C− | — | $743K | 0.99% | $2,590 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Braddock
Is Braddock expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Braddock costs more than 91% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #237 of 253 in Virginia. The typical home costs 7.4 years of the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K).
How much is rent in Braddock?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,640 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $2,419 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Braddock?
The median bill is $9,643 a year, 1.02% of the median home value (Virginia: $2,790, 0.73%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Braddock buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.