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State risk detail

Household financial stress in District of Columbia

Household financial stress reflects how close households are to the edge. It blends income, poverty exposure, housing cost burden, and safety-net reliance to show where families have less cushion for unexpected bills.

Risk score

50

/ 100

Relative score based on currently available metrics.

Risk metrics

  • Median household income$106,287
  • Households under 200% poverty24.5%
  • Rent-burdened households (30%+)44.2%
  • Mortgage-burdened households (30%+)46.1%
  • Households receiving SNAP13.2%
  • Income trend (YoY)+4.5%

Data status: Available

Scope: State baseline | Source: ACS 2023 5-year | 2023

Top drivers in this score

  • Mortgage-burdened households (30%+)

    46.1%

    Risk pressure percentile: 100

  • Households receiving SNAP

    13.2%

    Risk pressure percentile: 76

  • Rent-burdened households (30%+)

    44.2%

    Risk pressure percentile: 52

How this compares

Relative risk score50.0
Median (states)48.7
Delta vs median+1.3

Approximate percentile: 50 of 100

Coverage and confidence

Scope usedState baseline
Metric coverage6/6
ConfidenceBaseline confidence

City-level metrics were unavailable, so this score falls back to state baseline data.

Why it matters

In District of Columbia, Higher stress means more households are cost-burdened and rely on SNAP or other supports, leaving less room for savings.

What we measure

  • Median household income
  • Households under 200% poverty
  • Rent-burdened households (30%+)
  • Mortgage-burdened households (30%+)
  • Households receiving SNAP
  • Income trend (YoY)

Key sources

  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Common questions

What does a higher household financial stress score mean?

It signals more households facing cost burdens, lower incomes, and higher poverty exposure relative to other places.

Why use 200% of the poverty line?

It captures near-poor households that are still financially fragile but fall above the official poverty threshold.

How current is the data?

We use the most recent ACS 5-year release, which updates annually and smooths year-to-year volatility.