Washington, DC/Compare
Downtown vs Petworth
Downtown and Petworth are two official neighborhood clusters in Washington, DC. Petworth is the calmer DC Code map (63 vs 0). Downtown wins the errand count. Petworth has the lower ACS median ($1,730).
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 | Petworth |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 0 | 63 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 100 | 70 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 100 | 36 |
| Median rent | $2,469 | $1,730 |
| Median home | $654,755 | $809,640 |
| Population | 16,727 | 39,929 |
| Commute to Downtown | 6 min | 24 min |
| Commute to Capitol | 12 min | 28 min |
| Commute to Navy Yard | 16 min | 36 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Downtown | Petworth |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 78% | 36% |
| Median age | 33 | 39 |
| Median income | $123K | $140K |
| DC Code per 1k | 81.4 | 26.9 |
| Groceries / 800m | 12 | 34 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 184 | 134 |
| Parks / 800m | 140 | 78 |
| 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. Petworth is 11% below 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 cafes and the night and you want the errands on foot. Vibe is 100 vs 36. Walk is 100 vs 70. 6 vs 24 minutes to Downtown. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Petworth if the quieter map matters more than the scene and the rent gap is the point. Safety is 63 vs 0. ACS median rent is $1,730 vs $2,469. 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
Petworth
Cluster 18 is Brightwood Park, Crestwood, and Petworth. More house than bar, and the ACS rent median is $1,730 — below the northwest clusters. Georgia Avenue is the spine. Columbia Heights is south.
$1,730 median rent · safety 63 · walk 70
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Downtown or Petworth?
Petworth is the lower ACS median: $2,469 vs $1,730. About 36% rent in Petworth vs 78% in Downtown. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Downtown more walkable than Petworth?
Downtown wins the errand count (walk 100 vs 70). Groceries inside 800 meters: 12 vs 34. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Downtown or Petworth?
Petworth is the calmer DC Code read (63 vs 0). Combined rate 26.9 vs 81.4 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Downtown or Petworth?
Downtown leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 33 vs 39. Petworth has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
6 minutes from Downtown to Downtown, 24 from Petworth. Downtown is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood cluster that is not Downtown or Petworth: 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.