Elevation of Washington, D.C.
24ft
above sea level · 7 m
Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States. It isn’t part of any state: it’s the District of Columbia, home to 693,645 people. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, it’s the 10th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 38.90° N · 77.04° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 38° 53′ 42″ N · 77° 2′ 11″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 18S · 323,400 E · 4,307,108 N
- Zone 18 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 693,645 people
- 61.1 sq mi of land · 11,347 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from November 2014: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Washington, D.C. had 693,645 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 0.6% more than in April 2020, when it had 689,544. Its 61.1 sq mi of land work out to 11,347 people/sq mi.
Compared with other big cities
Washington, D.C. sits at 24 ft (7 m) above sea level. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, the highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft). The average is 858 ft: Washington, D.C. is 834 ft below it.
The highest point in the District is Point Reno, at 410 ft according to the USGS: 386 ft above Washington, D.C., 4.5 mi away in a straight line.
- 82 Washington, D.C. 24 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Washington, D.C..
What is the elevation of Washington, D.C.?
Washington, D.C. is 24 feet (7 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Washington, D.C.?
Latitude 38.89511 and longitude -77.03637, in decimal degrees (38° 53′ 42″ N · 77° 2′ 11″ W). In UTM, zone 18: 323,400 E and 4,307,108 N, on NAD83.
How does Washington, D.C. rank among the highest big cities?
It’s the 10th lowest of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people. The highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft).
What county is Washington, D.C. in?
the District of Columbia, District of Columbia.
Which is higher, Washington, D.C. or Annapolis?
Annapolis. Washington, D.C. sits at 24 ft and Annapolis at 44 ft: a difference of 20 ft, 30 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know