Washington, DC/Compare
Downtown vs Navy Yard
Downtown and Navy Yard are two official neighborhood clusters in Washington, DC. Navy Yard is the calmer DC Code map (68 vs 0). Downtown wins the errand count. Downtown has the lower ACS median ($2,469).
Data period. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · MPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Oct 2026. ACS and MPD retrieved 2026-10-01; OSM retrieved 2026-10-01. Editorial copy last revised Sep 2026.
Scores
Fit axes among official Washington, DC neighborhood clusters.
| Axis | Downtown | Navy Yard |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 0 | 68 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 100 | 10 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 91 |
| Vibe | 100 | 34 |
| Median rent | $2,469 | $2,760 |
| Median home | $654,755 | $736,099 |
| Population | 16,727 | 12,745 |
| Commute to Downtown | 6 min | 16 min |
| Commute to Capitol | 12 min | 12 min |
| Commute to Navy Yard | 16 min | 6 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Downtown | Navy Yard |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 78% | 88% |
| Median age | 33 | 32.1 |
| Median income | $123K | $143K |
| DC Code per 1k | 81.4 | 26.8 |
| Groceries / 800m | 12 | 5 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 184 | 26 |
| Parks / 800m | 140 | 68 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Washington city. Up 50% since 2014. Downtown is 26% above the 2024 city median. Navy Yd is 41% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. Dashed marks are each area’s ACS 2024 median.
Which to pick
The same numbers as the table, in sentences. Nobody wins the city.
Pick Downtown if you want the errands on foot and you want the cafes and the night. Walk is 100 vs 10. Vibe is 100 vs 34. ACS median rent is $2,469 vs $2,760. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Navy Yard if the quieter map matters more than the scene. Safety is 68 vs 0. Read both pages before you decide.
Downtown
Cluster 8 is Downtown, Chinatown, Penn Quarters, Mount Vernon Square, and North Capitol Street. The GIS spelling is Penn Quarters. Property rate is the highest in this set, 75.4 per 1,000, and the park count of 140 includes the Mall and people who do not sleep here. That is visitors and civic land, not a score for every side street.
$2,469 median rent · safety 0 · walk 100
Navy Yard
Cluster 27 is Near Southeast and Navy Yard. Capitol Riverfront is the search that means this row. ACS rent is $2,760 and 87.6% of households rent — the most renter-heavy cluster in this set. The waterfront west of the channel is Southwest, its own cluster.
$2,760 median rent · safety 68 · walk 10
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Downtown or Navy Yard?
Downtown is the lower ACS median: $2,469 vs $2,760. About 78% rent in Downtown vs 88% in Navy Yard. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Downtown more walkable than Navy Yard?
Downtown wins the errand count (walk 100 vs 10). Groceries inside 800 meters: 12 vs 5. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Downtown or Navy Yard?
Navy Yard is the calmer DC Code read (68 vs 0). Combined rate 26.8 vs 81.4 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Downtown or Navy Yard?
Downtown leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 33 vs 32.1. Navy Yard has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
6 minutes from Downtown to Downtown, 16 from Navy Yard. Downtown is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood cluster that is not Downtown or Navy Yard: Logan Circle. Cluster 7 is Shaw and Logan Circle. Search Shaw or U Street and you land here, not on the Howard cluster to the north. 14th Street is the strip; the side blocks are houses. Property rate is 21.4 per 1,000, quieter than Dupont’s visitor count. Dupont is west.
Scores are relative among official Washington, DC neighborhood clusters with the same editorial weights. Read the method.