Washington

Most affordable Washington suburbs

Ranked on what a household actually pays: the in-house cost-of-living index at 55%, the median home value against the metro at 25% (lower is better here), and the share of households already stretched by housing costs at 20%.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
Lake Ridge, Virginia, October 2021
Lake Ridge$471k median · 35.7 min commute
Cost of living B+Housing D+Employment C+
71
Affordability
overall 59 C
2
Linton Hall$617k median · 38.1 min commute
Cost of living BHousing B−Employment B
70
Affordability
overall 60 C
3
The historic retail & office town center in Greenbelt; originally opened in 1938 with all cooperative businesses.
Greenbelt$255k median · 33.8 min commute
Cost of living B+Housing FEmployment D
69
Affordability
overall 45 D
4
View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Center Street) at Battle Street in Manassas, Virginia
Manassas$450k median · 32.1 min commute
Cost of living BHousing DEmployment C
69
Affordability
overall 56 C−
5
An aerial photograph of Frederick, Maryland's city hall in 2022.
Frederick$402k median · 30.0 min commute
Cost of living B+Housing FEmployment C−
68
Affordability
overall 62 C
6
Front door of Forest Park Senior High School, in Woodbridge, VA
Montclair$578k median · 38.2 min commute
Cost of living BHousing C+Employment C−
67
Affordability
overall 58 C
7
Ballenger Creek$387k median · 32.5 min commute
Cost of living BHousing D−Employment C+
67
Affordability
overall 61 C
8
Dale City$426k median · 37.4 min commute
Cost of living B−Housing DEmployment C−
66
Affordability
overall 57 C−
9
MD 564 at Chapel Avenue, old Bowie, Maryland
Bowie$459k median · 34.8 min commute
Cost of living B−Housing C−Employment C+
66
Affordability
overall 53 C−
10
Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Montgomery Village, Maryland.
Montgomery Village$389k median · 32.6 min commute
Cost of living B+Housing FEmployment D
66
Affordability
overall 57 C−
This list's weighting
Cost of living 55%Median home value (lower is better) 25%Cost-burdened households 20%
Other Washington lists
Best Washington suburbs for familiesBest Washington suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown WashingtonMost walkable Washington suburbsBest Washington suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Washington suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Lake Ridge (Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0); Greenbelt (Payton Chung from DCA, USA · CC BY 2.0); Manassas (Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0); Frederick (Matthew Binebrink · CC BY-SA 4.0); Montclair (Northern-Virginia-Photographer · CC0); Bowie (Andrew Bossi · CC BY-SA 2.5); Montgomery Village (Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0).