Washington, DC/Compare
Foggy Bottom vs Southwest
Foggy Bottom and Southwest are two official neighborhood clusters in Washington, DC. Foggy Bottom is the calmer DC Code map (100 vs 58). Walk is a wash (40 vs 39). Southwest has the lower ACS median ($2,213).
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 | Foggy Bottom | Southwest |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 100 | 58 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 40 | 39 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 51 | 48 |
| Median rent | $2,479 | $2,213 |
| Median home | $696,389 | $496,837 |
| Population | 15,926 | 16,380 |
| Commute to Downtown | 10 min | 12 min |
| Commute to Capitol | 18 min | 14 min |
| Commute to Navy Yard | 24 min | 10 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Foggy Bottom | Southwest |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 71% | 69% |
| Median age | 28.8 | 36.3 |
| Median income | $104K | $113K |
| DC Code per 1k | 15.6 | 28.9 |
| Groceries / 800m | 12 | 5 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 68 | 81 |
| Parks / 800m | 71 | 110 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Washington city. Up 50% since 2014. Foggy B. is 27% above the 2024 city median. SW is 13% 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 Foggy Bottom if the quieter map matters more than the scene. Safety is 100 vs 58. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Southwest if the rent gap is the point and you want the cafes and the night. ACS median rent is $2,213 vs $2,479. Vibe is 48 vs 51. Read both pages before you decide.
Foggy Bottom
Cluster 5 is West End, Foggy Bottom, and GWU. The campus pulls the median age to 28.8, the youngest in this set. Property rate is the lowest here, 14.0 per 1,000. Georgetown is the hill west. Downtown is the Mall side — a different cluster.
$2,479 median rent · safety 100 · walk 40
Southwest
Cluster 9 is Southwest Employment Area, Southwest/Waterfront, Fort McNair, and Buzzard Point. Search the Wharf and you land here. Waterfront apartments and a federal edge. The park count of 110 includes the Mall within 800 meters, not a hundred local parks. Navy Yard is the newer towers east, its own cluster.
$2,213 median rent · safety 58 · walk 39
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Foggy Bottom or Southwest?
Southwest is the lower ACS median: $2,479 vs $2,213. About 69% rent in Southwest vs 71% in Foggy Bottom. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Foggy Bottom more walkable than Southwest?
Walk is basically a tie (40 vs 39). Count groceries if you care: 12 in Foggy Bottom vs 5 in Southwest, inside 800 meters.
Which is safer on this map, Foggy Bottom or Southwest?
Foggy Bottom is the calmer DC Code read (100 vs 58). Combined rate 15.6 vs 28.9 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Foggy Bottom or Southwest?
Foggy Bottom leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 28.8 vs 36.3. Southwest has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
10 minutes from Foggy Bottom to Downtown, 12 from Southwest. Foggy Bottom is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood cluster that is not Foggy Bottom or Southwest: Dupont Circle. Cluster 6 is Dupont Circle and Connecticut Avenue/K Street. The circle is the lawn and the night. OSM counted 245 restaurants in or near the cluster — visitors write the property rate, 62.6 per 1,000. Logan Circle is east. Adams Morgan is north.
Scores are relative among official Washington, DC neighborhood clusters with the same editorial weights. Read the method.