District of Columbia vs Maryland

Enter your annual household income to compare its purchasing power between the two states.

Your $100,000 in District of Columbia is worth

$90,992

at national prices · RPP 109.9BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in Maryland is worth

$95,238

at national prices · RPP 105.0BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes +$4,246 further in Maryland (+4.7% purchasing power).

Show the math
adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)
District of Columbia: $100,000 ÷ (109.9 ÷ 100) = $90,992
Maryland: $100,000 ÷ (105.0 ÷ 100) = $95,238
difference: $95,238 − $90,992 = +$4,246

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
ComponentDistrict of ColumbiaMarylandDifference
All items109.9105.0−4.5%
Housing rents155.0121.1−21.9%
Goods106.5102.5−3.8%
Utilities112.8110.9−1.7%
Other services103.0101.6−1.4%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

District of ColumbiaMedian rent$1,954/moMedian home$737,100
MarylandMedian rent$1,705/moMedian home$419,900

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
TaxDistrict of ColumbiaMaryland
Income tax (top rate)10.75%6.50%
Sales tax (combined avg)6.00%6.00%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

District of Columbia vs Maryland: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from District of Columbia to Maryland and its purchasing power changes from $90,992 to $95,238 in national-average terms — a gain of $4,246. Maryland is the cheaper of the two, running at 105 on the price index versus 109.9.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: District of Columbia sits at 155 and Maryland at 121.1 (100 = national). Maryland has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,954 in District of Columbia against $1,705 in Maryland, and the typical home $737,100 versus $419,900. Maryland is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, District of Columbia has 10.75% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 6.00%; Maryland has 6.50% top income tax and 6.00%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.

Full profiles: District of Columbia ·Maryland. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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