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Washington → San Francisco flights

Washington to San Francisco fares have a median of $143 over the sample window, with a wide range — watch fares closely rather than timing a single window.

DCA-SFO: median $143, but fares swing from $105 to $207

Key takeaways

Median fare sits at $143, a reasonable benchmark for this route
Bottom quartile fares run $107 or below — worth booking if you see them
Top quartile climbs to $170+, with a high of $207 observed
97% spread between low and high means timing matters more than usual here
Only 12 snapshots sampled — treat patterns as directional, not definitive

30-day price trend

DCA → SFO · cheapest cached fare per day · last 13 days · ↓ 38%

$105 low$207 high

See full numbers and stats on the DCA → SFO price history page.

The full picture

The data shows a wide range for DCA-SFO fares: from a low of $105 to a high of $207, with a median of $143. A spread this large — nearly 100% between the extremes — tells us this route doesn't have a tightly clustered 'normal' price. Shoppers who catch fares in the bottom quartile ($107 or under) are getting a meaningfully better deal than the median traveler, while those booking at the high end are paying close to double.

With only 12 daily snapshots in this sample, we can't make confident claims about exactly when in the booking horizon prices soften — the dataset is too thin to isolate a reliable pattern tied to days-before-departure. What we can say is that the gap between the p25 ($107) and p75 ($170) marks is substantial, so if you're flexible on dates or willing to check fares repeatedly, there's real room to land well below the median rather than paying it.

No dominant carrier was identifiable from this data, so we can't speak to airline-specific pricing behavior on this route. The honest takeaway: this is a route where price-tracking and flexibility pay off more than trying to game a specific booking window. Given the small sample size, treat the $143 median as a rough anchor rather than a guarantee — watch fares over a few weeks if your dates allow it, and move when you see something at or below the $107–$130 range.

Ready to look at fares?

Search DCA → SFO on Aviasales →See the price history →

Related travel pages

AI-authored from this route's 30-day price index. Article last regenerated Oct 10, 2026. Fares shift continuously — confirm at booking.