Washington, DC/Compare
Navy Yard vs Southwest
Navy Yard and Southwest are two official neighborhood clusters in Washington, DC. Navy Yard is the calmer DC Code map (68 vs 58). Southwest wins the errand count. 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 | Navy Yard | Southwest |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 68 | 58 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 10 | 39 |
| Cost fit | 91 | 100 |
| Vibe | 34 | 48 |
| Median rent | $2,760 | $2,213 |
| Median home | $736,099 | $496,837 |
| Population | 12,745 | 16,380 |
| Commute to Downtown | 16 min | 12 min |
| Commute to Capitol | 12 min | 14 min |
| Commute to Navy Yard | 6 min | 10 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Navy Yard | Southwest |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 88% | 69% |
| Median age | 32.1 | 36.3 |
| Median income | $143K | $113K |
| DC Code per 1k | 26.8 | 28.9 |
| Groceries / 800m | 5 | 5 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 26 | 81 |
| Parks / 800m | 68 | 110 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Washington city. Up 50% since 2014. Navy Yd is 41% 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 Navy Yard if the quieter map matters more than the scene. Safety is 68 vs 58. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Southwest if you want the errands on foot and the rent gap is the point. Walk is 39 vs 10. ACS median rent is $2,213 vs $2,760. Vibe is 48 vs 34. Read both pages before you decide.
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
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, Navy Yard or Southwest?
Southwest is the lower ACS median: $2,760 vs $2,213. About 69% rent in Southwest vs 88% in Navy Yard. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Navy Yard more walkable than Southwest?
Southwest wins the errand count (walk 10 vs 39). Groceries inside 800 meters: 5 vs 5. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Navy Yard or Southwest?
Navy Yard is the calmer DC Code read (68 vs 58). Combined rate 26.8 vs 28.9 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Navy Yard or Southwest?
Navy Yard leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 32.1 vs 36.3. Southwest has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
16 minutes from Navy Yard to Downtown, 12 from Southwest. Southwest is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood cluster that is not Navy Yard or Southwest: Capitol Hill. Cluster 26 is Capitol Hill and Lincoln Park. Row houses, the park, and a violent rate of 1.6 per 1,000. Eastern Market is the errand people mean. Navy Yard is the new buildings south, its own cluster. The corridor north of here is Stanton Park.
Scores are relative among official Washington, DC neighborhood clusters with the same editorial weights. Read the method.