The Cost of a Good School in DC

• July 20th 2015

by Tianna Mañón

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Getting their children into a high-performing DC public school is the primary concern for most parents in this city. Because schools are often tied to the socio-economic status of the neighborhoods where they’re located, to get into a good school, residents often have to move to areas with higher housing costs.

A post by the District of Columbia’s Office of Revenue Analysis has plotted the median costs of three-bedroom homes in neighborhoods with high performing schools to give a clearer answer to the common question: How much do I need to spend to get my child into a good school?

The Office found that “a typical three-bedroom home in the attendance zone of a DCPS elementary school with the very top test scores – places where 80 percent or more students are proficient or advanced in reading – will cost over $800,000.” The analysis chose to focus on three-bedroom homes because they are more likely to be attractive to families.

As expected, most of the top-tier schools are in the District’s northwest quadrant. Ross Elementary School, for instance, is located in Dupont Circle. The average price of a three-bedroom here is over $1.4 million. The other Tier 1 schools in the top five are John Eaton Elementary ($1.062 million) in Cleveland Park and Thomson Elementary ($1.02 million) near Thomas Circle.

Going down a tier doesn’t offer much relief.

Tier 2 schools, where between 60 and 80 percent of students perform well, have median prices between $600,000 to over $1 million for three-bedrooms. In fact, it’s not until the third tier that homes become more affordable, with some below $650,000.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_cost_of_moving_for_a_good_school/10143.