Congrats to the Nationals and Astros for advancing to the World Series. Houston was just here two years ago, while Washington, D.C., has been waiting since 1933 — when the Washington Senators were still in town.
Baseball fans across the country are trying to find any inside scoop (remember that octopus that would correctly pick the World Cup winners?) to determine who is a favorite in this match up.
Here at Rent., we couldn’t resist getting in on all the fun. But we’re making our predictions with a twist — we’re looking at which city is really the champion when it comes to the best place for renters. We came up with nine different factors (or innings, if you will) to help us score and pick a winner.
So baseball aside, here’s how the series between Washington, D.C., and Houston will play out for renters.
1st inning: Rent prices
This is probably the biggest difference between the two cities. Your average one-bedroom apartment in Washington, D.C., will run you about $3,086 a month. It’s about half of that to rent a similar-sized unit in Houston.
- Winner: Houston
2nd inning: Cost of living
There’s a trend forming here. The big cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are known for having higher rent prices and cost of living, and D.C. is no exception. People living there will have an average cost of living that’s 63.4 percent higher than the national average. Houston’s cost of living is 5.5 percent below the national average.
- Winner: Houston
3rd inning: Income
Higher rent and cost of living generally translates to a higher income. People in D.C. are earning about $95,000 on average (before taxes). That’s about $25,000 more a year than the average earner in Houston.
It’s true that Texas doesn’t have a state income tax, but still…
- Winner: Washington, D.C.
4th inning: Unemployment
The national unemployment rate is hovering around 3.5 percent, and both of the cities here are fairly close to that average. However, Houston (3.9 percent) is on the wrong side of the average, while Washington, D.C. (3.2 percent), is a little more favorable.
- Winner: Washington, D.C.
5th inning: Average commute time
Who wants to spend all their time in the car when they really just want to get home from work in time for the first pitch? There’s not much of a difference in total commute time between these two cities (30 minutes vs. 33 minutes), but a lot can happen in those extra three minutes. Plus, D.C. Beltway traffic is notoriously bad.
- Winner: Houston
6th inning: Gas prices
Houston is known for its oil and natural gas companies. There was once a football team here called the Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans). Gas is also about 50 cents cheaper per gallon. Kind of a no brainer.
- Winner: Houston
7th inning: Weather
This is a tough one. Hurricanes aren’t uncommon in Houston. But Snowmageddon is no joke in D.C. And both cities can get pretty humid in the summer.
However, when looking at the average temperature in each city over the past five years (72.1 degrees for Houston and 60.1 degrees for Washington, D.C.), the decision becomes a lot easier.
- Winner: Houston
8th inning: Population density
This is another tough one. On one side you could make the argument that more people makes an area more desirable. But on the other hand, some would say that they’re happier with fewer crowds.
For our scoring, we’re going with the more the merrier (which just means there will be more people at a championship parade). Houston DOES have about four times as many people as D.C., but it’s also a much larger city by area. When you consider population density, Washington, D.C., comes out on top.
- Winner: Washington, D.C.
9th inning: Entertainment
If you’re just looking at the total number of entertainment options (movie theaters, concert venues, bars, arts centers and performing arts), Houston is the runaway winner. That’s not surprising, considering it’s a much larger city.
To even the playing field a bit, we decided to do a per capita calculation and rank each city by entertainment options per 100,000 people.
Once again, D.C. squeaks by at 28.3 to 20.2.
- Winner: Washington, D.C.
Final Score: Houston wins 5-4
So, there you have it. After consulting our star charts and using all of our fingers and toes to count (because you can’t forget to carry the one), we’ve determined that Houston is the better city for renters.
But don’t worry D.C. fans, you still have the Redskins Capitals!
Methodology
The data used for our metrics comes from the following sources:
- Apartment Guide and Rent. multifamily rental property inventory
- Council for Community and Economic Research
- Maponics
- AAA gas prices
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Commercially available business listings
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The rent information included in this article is based on October 2019 multifamily rental property inventory on Apartment Guide and Rent. and is used for illustrative purposes only. The data contained herein do not constitute financial advice or a pricing guarantee for any apartment.
This article is for entertainment purposes only and should be viewed as such.
