Route comparison
New York, NY vs Washington, DC: Cost of Living
Compare New York, NY and Washington, DC using historical BEA 2024 price indexes and HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR benchmarks. Add your own salary, lease and moving quote to a budget summary.
New York, NY
NY
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 112.563
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 148.616
- 2024 goods RPP
- 110.261
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $2,971/mo
BEA: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (Metropolitan Statistical Area). HUD: New York, NY HUD Metro FMR Area (Bronx County, Kings County, New York County, Putnam County, Queens County, Richmond County, Rockland County, Westchester County). These historical rows were checked September 14, 2026.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Washington, DC
DC
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 108.884
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 151.134
- 2024 goods RPP
- 104.847
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $2,438/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Historical RPP salary illustration
In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Washington, DC has a lower overall price level than New York, NY by about 3.3% (RPP 112.563 to 108.884).
$60,000 in New York, NY
-> $58,039
in Washington, DC
$100,000 in New York, NY
-> $96,732
in Washington, DC
$150,000 in New York, NY
-> $145,097
in Washington, DC
Salary illustrations use BEA 2024 overall Regional Price Parities (RPP) only, before tax and household-specific adjustments. Overall RPP already includes housing. HUD FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a separate historical gross-rent benchmark, not a current lease or median rent. Do not add rent to the RPP salary figure. Your lease and moving quote belong in a separate budget. Not financial advice.
Step 2: what will the move itself cost?
Put your actual lease, deposit, overlap rent and mover quote beside the historical salary illustration. Leave amounts you do not yet know blank.
Migration signal: New York, NY vs Washington, DC
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023New York, NY
- Net people
- −153,065
- Net rank
- #65 of 65
- Top origin share
- 5%
- Top destination share
- 3%
Largest source: Los Angeles County, CA. Largest destination: Palm Beach County, FL.
Washington, DC
- Net people
- −23,075
- Net rank
- #60 of 65
- Top origin share
- 5%
- Top destination share
- 6%
Largest source: Anne Arundel County, MD. Largest destination: Anne Arundel County, MD.
Rent delta: Washington, DC is $533/mo lower for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than New York, NY. Housing RPP moves from 148.616 to 151.134.
Migration figures are derived from IRS SOI county-to-county migration data for 2022-2023, mapped to metros via Census CBSA delineation. Small county-to-county flows are IRS-suppressed, so per-metro totals are lower bounds. Source: IRS SOI migration data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Washington, DC cheaper or more expensive than New York, NY?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Washington, DC (RPP 108.884) has an overall price level about 3.3% lower than New York, NY (RPP 112.563). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in Washington, DC if I earn $100,000 in New York, NY?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $96,732 in Washington, DC, using $100,000 x (108.884 / 112.563). It uses BEA 2024 overall price indexes before tax and household adjustments; HUD rent is not added to this figure.
- Which metro had stronger net migration, New York, NY or Washington, DC?
- For 2022-2023, New York, NY had a net loss of 153,065 people, while Washington, DC had a net loss of 23,075 people. IRS small-flow suppression means these are lower-bound research signals, not complete population-change totals.