Sustained high rent in Washington DC is pushing roommates into commuter areas, with searches for well-connected locations having more than doubled, according to data from roommate site SpareRoom.
It's not only families who want to live in the DC suburbs; roommates are showing a growing interest too. Searches for quiet residential suburb Lanham, MD in Prince George's County, around 14 miles east of central DC, more than doubled (+127%) in the year to 2025. And, nearby, Laurel, MD, also an easy commute away, saw roommate searches increase by 126%.
Sterling, VA in Loudoun County and with Silver Line Metro access, putting the Metro commute to central DC to within an hour, saw roommate searches more than double (+119%). And searches for Manassas VA, which has VRE commuter rail links into Union Station, increased 128%.
Today, the average DC roommate living with others will spend $1,132 per month on their share of the rent. The average roommate rent hasn't fallen below the $1,110 mark in three years, and is still inflated way above pre-pandemic levels, as shown in the chart below:
Matt Hutchinson, director of roommate site SpareRoom, comments: “It used to be the case that sharing as a roommate was the best way to experience city living at an affordable price. Today, even roommates are finding they can't afford to do that, which could explain why shared rentals in the suburbs are attracting so much interest, despite a longer, more expensive commute. Rents in DC might not be rising right now but that doesn't mean it's affordable. People need to save money any way they can.”