United States · North America
Moving to Washington DC
Washington DC quick facts
United States at a glance
North America
Economy
World Bank · 2025Religion
% of populationCIA World Factbook / national censuses
Cost of living in Washington DC
Can you move to United States?
Pick your passport to see whether you can enter United States — and what it takes to stay.
Entry rules come from github.com/imorte/passport-index-data, updated 17 February 2026. They change without notice — confirm with the official immigration service before booking.
Getting set up in United States
Status, Social Security number, and the G-4 route DC has more of than anywhere
There is no post-arrival registration in the US: your I-94 record is your status. In your first weeks you need a Social Security number if work-authorised, or an ITIN if not. What is distinctive about DC is the G-4 visa: staff of the World Bank, IMF and other international organisations, plus their dependants, hold a status with its own tax treatment, its own work rules for spouses, and no path to a green card through employment.
Read the full step-by-step guideThe DC DMV, three jurisdictions, and why you may not want a car
DC requires new residents to obtain a DC licence within 30 days of establishing residency. Foreign licence holders generally take a knowledge test and a road test, though DC has reciprocity arrangements with a small number of countries. The larger question is whether to have a car at all: DC's residential parking is zoned and enforced hard, and the Metro plus a real bike network cover most of the District.
Read the full step-by-step guideOpening a bank account and building US credit from zero
You can open a US account without a Social Security number: federal rules let a bank use your passport number and country of issuance, or an ITIN, as the identifying number. In DC there is a further shortcut — several credit unions exist specifically to serve World Bank, IMF and other multilateral staff, and they underwrite on employment rather than a US credit file.
Read the full step-by-step guideDC Health Link and the Healthy DC Plan
Coverage comes from an employer, from DC Health Link, or from DC Medicaid if your income qualifies. DC introduced the Healthy DC Plan for 2026: qualifying residents get coverage with no monthly payments and no cost at the point of care, with enrolment open all year. DC also has its own individual mandate, so going uninsured produces a penalty on your DC tax return.
Read the full step-by-step guideGetting a US phone number with no credit history
The US has no SIM registration requirement: numbers are not tied to identity documents, so getting connected is trivially easy by international standards. Buy a prepaid SIM or eSIM and it works immediately. The friction is postpaid contracts, which run a credit check you cannot pass on arrival — prepaid avoids it and usually costs less.
Read the full step-by-step guideDC income tax, and the jurisdiction choice that decides it
DC's income tax is progressive: 4% up to $10,000, 6% to $40,000, 6.5% to $60,000, 8.5% to $250,000, 9.25% to $500,000, 9.75% to $1 million, and 10.75% above that. Crucially, DC taxes on residence and has reciprocity with Maryland and Virginia — so which side of the line you sleep on decides your bill, not where your office is. Virginia's top rate is 5.75%; Maryland's state rate is lower than DC's but adds a county tax.
Read the full step-by-step guideEach guide has verified costs, timelines, required documents, and the non-obvious gotchas — sourced from official government pages. Last verified August 2026.
Essential English phrases
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What to know before you go
The Healthy DC Plan is new for 2026 and enrolment never closes
CriticalDC Health Link introduced the Healthy DC Plan: qualifying District residents get coverage with no monthly payments and no cost when they get care, and enrolment stays open all of 2026 rather than running in a window. This is materially more generous than any state marketplace in this app, and because it is new almost nothing written about moving to DC mentions it. Check eligibility before assuming you must buy a plan.
Your address's quadrant is not optional
CriticalEvery DC street address ends NW, NE, SW or SE, measured from the Capitol. 400 M Street NW and 400 M Street SE are miles apart in different neighbourhoods. Leaving the quadrant off an address — in a lease, a delivery, a taxi — sends you to the wrong side of the city. Learn this on day one; it is the single most practical piece of DC knowledge.
DC income tax is progressive to 10.75%, and you cannot escape it by working elsewhere
CriticalResidents pay 4% up to $10,000, rising through 8.5% between $60,000 and $250,000, to 10.75% above $1 million. Unlike most places, DC taxes on residence rather than workplace, and it has reciprocity agreements with Maryland and Virginia — so where you live decides your tax, not where your office is. Many people live in Arlington or Bethesda specifically for this.
Apply for your Social Security number about ten days after arriving
CriticalSSA verifies your status against DHS records that lag entry by one to two weeks, so an immediate visit usually wastes the trip. Only work-authorised people qualify; everyone else files IRS Form W-7 for an ITIN. The card is free.
Decide DC, Maryland or Virginia before you sign anything
ImportantThe three jurisdictions have different income tax, car registration, licence rules, gun laws and school systems, and the Metro crosses all of them in twenty minutes. Virginia has a car property tax DC does not; Maryland's income tax includes a county piece; DC has the highest top rate but the strongest tenant protections. This choice shapes your finances more than your neighbourhood does.
You do not need a car, and parking will punish you for having one
ImportantThe Metro reaches most of the District and the inner suburbs, and DC is compact and walkable. Residential parking is permit-zoned and enforced aggressively, street cleaning takes lanes weekly, and rush-hour restrictions turn parked cars into tows. Between that and a genuine bike network, large numbers of residents go without.
Top industries & employers
Federal government & agencies
Federal departments, the Fed, World Bank, IMF
The city's foundation, though many roles require US citizenship and a security clearance — a genuine constraint for non-citizen newcomers to understand before targeting the sector.
Government contracting & defence
Booz Allen, Leidos, CACI, General Dynamics IT, Accenture Federal
Northern Virginia's contractor belt is the region's largest private employer base. Most substantial roles need clearance, which requires citizenship.
Law, lobbying & policy
Covington, Arnold & Porter, Brookings, RAND, the trade associations
One of the densest legal and policy markets in the world. Practising law needs DC bar admission; foreign qualifications rarely transfer without an LLM.
International development & NGOs
World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank, Chemonics, PATH
The single most internationally-staffed sector in the city, and the one most accessible to non-citizens — the multilaterals have their own visa categories (G-4) entirely.
Technology & cloud
Amazon (HQ2 in Arlington), Microsoft, Google, Palantir, AWS public sector
Amazon's second headquarters in Arlington reshaped the regional tech labour market, and the cloud providers' public-sector arms are all here.
Higher education & research
Georgetown, George Washington, Howard, Johns Hopkins SAIS, NIH
NIH in Bethesda is the largest biomedical research funder in the world, and the universities anchor a substantial research economy around it.
Where to go in Washington DC
The National Mall & Smithsonian museums
Culture · Central
Nineteen museums and the National Zoo, essentially all free, strung along two miles between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.
Local tip: Free admission is genuinely unlimited — treat them as places to drop into for forty minutes rather than day trips. The National Museum of African American History and Culture still needs a timed pass in peak season.
Rock Creek Park
Nature · North-west
1,750 acres of forested valley running through the middle of the city, twice the size of Central Park.
Local tip: Beach Drive is closed to cars permanently on several sections now, which transformed it for cyclists and runners. The Boulder Bridge stretch feels like Appalachia twenty minutes from the White House.
Eastern Market & Capitol Hill
Food · Capitol Hill SE
An 1873 brick market hall with a weekend flea market, surrounded by rowhouses and the city's best-preserved residential streets.
Local tip: Saturday for the farmers, Sunday for the flea market. Get the blueberry buckwheat pancakes at Market Lunch inside, and go early — the queue is real.
U Street & Shaw
Neighborhood · North-west
Historically 'Black Broadway' — Duke Ellington's neighbourhood, now the city's densest nightlife and restaurant strip.
Local tip: Ben's Chili Bowl for a half-smoke is the obligatory stop, but the better eating is on 9th Street and along Florida Avenue. The African American Civil War Memorial is at the Metro exit and most people walk past it.
Georgetown & the C&O Canal
Landmark · North-west
Federal-era rowhouses, cobbled streets and a 19th-century canal towpath running 184 miles west to Cumberland.
Local tip: Georgetown has no Metro station, which is why it feels separate. Walk or cycle the towpath out past Fletcher's Cove and the crowds vanish within a mile.
Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
Hidden gemNature · North-east
The only national park dedicated to aquatic plants — ponds of lotus and water lilies on the Anacostia, with marsh boardwalks.
Local tip: Go in July at dawn when the lotuses are open and the herons are out. It is free, it is a National Park Service site, and almost nobody who lives in north-west DC has ever been.
Emergency numbers in Washington DC
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