Local costs · District of Columbia
What a home costs across District of Columbia
Property-tax rates, insurance, and closing costs vary widely by county. Below are the state-wide rules that apply everywhere in District of Columbia, then every county with its own tax rate and insurance range.
Statewide facts
- Home insurance average
- About $1,384 per year for a standard HO-3 policy (NAIC 2022 state average). Individual counties run above or below this based on local hazard risk — see the table below.
- Transfer & recording tax
- DC deed transfer tax: stepped by price bracket — seller customarily paysDC deed recordation tax: stepped by price bracket — buyer customarily paysEligible first-time DC buyers pay a reduced 0.725% recordation rate (price and income caps apply, FY2026).On the $733,400 state median home, the buyer’s customary share is about $10,634; the seller customarily covers about $10,634.
- Title insurance
- District of Columbia uses competitive (filed) rates. Rates are competitive rather than state-set, so we model title and settlement from a national declining-rate curve calibrated to published costs.
- State income tax
- District of Columbia income tax is modeled at about 4.16% effective for a married household at $100,000 (5.53% filing single). These are modeled effective rates from Tax Foundation 2026 brackets.
All 1 counties in District of Columbia
Effective property-tax rate (Census ACS) and a typical annual insurance range at the state median home value. Select a county for the full breakdown.
| County | Property tax | Insurance / yr |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 0.58% | $900–$2,000typical $1,380 |
* Property-tax rate is approximate because the county’s Census median is top-coded.
How these numbers are built
Every figure comes from public data or our own math: Census ACS property taxes, NAIC insurance averages scaled by FEMA risk, and researched transfer-tax and title schedules.
Estimates, not advice. See the methodology for sources, vintages, and the honest gaps.