Real estate · Metro area · District of Columbia
Real estate businesses in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #217 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia
- Listings
- 10,984
- 586 chain locations (5%)
- Official establishments
- 6,141
- +8.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $45.2B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $19,065 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 95
- 5% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 46.3
- 20% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 6,465,724
- +3.3% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10,984 real estate businesses in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. Chain locations make up 5% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That is 46.3 per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area comes to about $45.2B a year: $19,065 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 5% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
In 2023, official counts showed 6,141 businesses with payroll in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 8.8% from 2019. That is one for every 386 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 35,290 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 64 SBA-backed loans worth $13.3M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For real estate businesses, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #217 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia.
How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area compares
The same measures for District of Columbia and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area | District of Columbia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 46.3 | 44.4 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 95 | 94 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 386 | 336 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.8% | +7.2% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +3.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $19,065 | $18,134 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $126,684 | $109,870 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6,141+8.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 40,706
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.1B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 35,290Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10,984586 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 10,444The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 64
- Amount
- $13.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 6,465,724+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 2,373,022
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 6,034 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,047
- Median household income
- $126,684
- Average household income
- $166,652
- Median home value
- $579,900
- Jobs located here
- 3,140,160
- Daytime population
- 6,505,668Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOther business types in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area?
There are 10,984 real estate businesses on map listings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area as of September 2026. 586 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 6,141 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 35,290 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $45.2B a year, or $19,065 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 10,984 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 5% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,373,022 households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has 46.3 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 95, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area would have about 10,444, against 10,984 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 386 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area at 6,465,724 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,373,022 households. The median household income in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area is $126,684 a year, 57% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores 47 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #217 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.