Photo by Ted Eytan
For Washingtonians who have yet to abandon Metrorail and want to live near one of its transit stations, the cheapest one-bedroom apartments can be found along the eastern portion of the Orange and Blue Lines, according to a new report by RentHop.
The apartment-hunting website has released an interactive map that shows median one-bedroom rents for spaces that are about one eighth of a mile, or 660 feet, from a Metrorail station. The company used its rental info from 2016 through 2017 and WMATA’s GIS data to get its results.
For the most affordable locations, look for dark green dots on the map. Renters pay the cheapest for one bedroom apartments near Cheverly station on the Orange Line, with an average of $980 per month, followed spots close to Addison Road-Seat on the Blue and Silver Lines, coming in at $982.50 per month.
Spots along the southern end of the Green Line are also among the most affordable—ranging from an average of $1,063 to $1,116 per month.
The most expensive rentals, marked by purple dots on the map, and clustered near the heart of downtown D.C., are near stations like Federal Triangle, L’Enfant Plaza, Judiciary Square, and Metro Center—which has the most costly rents averaging $2,700 per month.
Last year, an Estately study found that people who purchased homes within a one-mile radius of the Red Line’s western end coughed up the most bucks, while those who bought homes close to stations on the Green Line’s southern end sealed the most affordable deals.
RentHop’s report also notes significant price savings between stations that are just one stop away. For instance, a renter could save $445 each month living near Waterfront rather than L’Enfant Plaza, $453 living near Fort Totten instead of Georgia Avenue, and $475 for a move to Columbia Heights compared to U Street.
Overall, RentHop found that one-bedroom rentals are up by 2.6 percent from 2015, with rents increasing near 61 of Metro’s 91 stops. Franconia-Springfield had the largest percentage increase at 11.4 percent, followed by Foggy Bottom at 10.2 percent, and Congress Heights at 10 percent.
