Here’s How Expensive It Is To Park In DC

WASHINGTON, DC -- New York City has higher parking rates than every other major metropolitan area in the United States -- not surprisingly -- but D.C. placed in the top five, according to a new parking index released by Parkopedia.

The index ranks parking rates in the central business districts of the top 40 U.S. cities. The rankings are divided by hourly, daily and monthly parking rates and New York City has the highest rates in all three categories. D.C. is 5th with a median hourly parking rate of $11, behind New York, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia, and just ahead of Minneapolis. However, daily parking rates in the District are much more reasonable, and the city doesn't even place in the top 10 in that category.

To create the index, Parkopedia used data from more than 650 parking facilities that cover more than 300,000 parking spaces. Parking prices were calculated as the median of corresponding parking rates for all publicly available off-street parking facilities in a city center.

According to the index, the median hourly parking rate in NYC’s city center is $27. By comparison, Chicago and Boston had median hourly parking rates in excess of $15.

The cities with the highest median hourly parking rates are:

1. New York City: $27
2. Chicago: $17
3. Boston: $16
4. Philadelphia: $12
5. Washington D.C.: $11
6. Minneapolis: $10
7. Los Angeles: $9.50
8. Cleveland: $9
9. Detroit: $9
10. Denver: $8

New York City’s median daily parking rate is $42.25, according to the index. After New York City, Boston and Chicago have the highest median daily parking rates.

The cities with the highest median daily parking rates are:

1. New York City: $42.25
2. Boston: $34
3. Chicago: $30
4. San Francisco: $28
5. Miami: $25
6. Philadelphia: $25
7. Bellevue: $24
8. Seattle: $24
9. Minneapolis: $23
10. Charlotte: $21

The monthly median parking rate in New York City is a whopping $616 for unreserved monthly parking, meaning parking in a guaranteed but not a dedicated space. After New York City, Boston and San Francisco have the highest monthly parking rates for unreserved spots.

The cities with the most expensive median monthly parking rates for unreserved spots are:

1. New York City: $616
2. Boston: $425
3. San Francisco: $322.50
4. Seattle: $289
5. Philadelphia: $284.50
6. Washington D.C.: $274
7. Chicago: $265
8. Minneapolis: $260
9. Pittsburgh: $235
10. Bellevue: $222

Parkopedia did not rank New York City in the fourth category: median monthly reserved parking rates, which means parking in a guaranteed and dedicated space. In that category, Washington D.C.had the highest median monthly rates.

The cities with the highest median monthly rates for reserved spots are:

1. Washington D.C.: $555
2. Boston: $550
3. Chicago: $547
4. Los Angeles: $418
5. San Francisco: $410
6. Seattle: $400
7. Baltimore: $375
8. Philadelphia: $370
9. Pittsburgh: $355
10. Bellevue: $325

You can see the full report here.

(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)