Demographics of Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia is a federal district with an ethnically diverse population. In 2020, the District had a population of 689,545 people, with a resident density of 11,515 people per square mile.[1]

The District of Columbia had relatively few residents until the Civil War. The presence of the U.S. federal government in Washington has been instrumental in the city's later growth and development. Its role as the capital leads people to forget that approximately one-third of the District of Columbia's population was born in the city.[2][3][4][5]

In 2011, the District of Columbia's black population slipped below 50 percent for the first time in over 50 years.[6] The District was a majority-black district from the late 1950s through 2011. The District of Columbia has had a significant African-American population since the District's creation; several neighborhoods are noted for their contributions to black history and culture. Like numerous other border and northern cities in the first half of the 20th century, the District of Columbia received many black migrants from the South in the Great Migration. African Americans moved north for better education and job opportunities, as well as to escape legal segregation and lynchings. Government growth during World War II provided economic opportunities for African Americans, too.

In the postwar era, the percentage of African Americans in the District steadily increased as its total population declined as a result of suburbanization, supported by federal highway construction, and white flight. The black population included a strong middle and upper class.

Since the 2000 U.S. census, the District has added more than 120,000 residents and reversed some of the population losses seen in previous decades. The growth is speeding up; the population has increased more than 100,000 since the 2010 census. The proportion of white, Asian, and Hispanic residents has increased, and the proportion of black residents has stagnated, with the latter mostly moving to the suburbs.

Between 2010 and the 2020 census, the black population experienced a notable decline, with blacks comprising fewer than half of the population for the first time since the late-1950s,[7] though still the largest racial group in the city.[8] The percentage of Asians, Hispanics and whites all experienced small increases.[9]

  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: District of Columbia". www.census.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  2. ^ Tara Lerman (July 26, 2017). "Let's stop saying nobody is actually from DC". GreaterGreaterWashington.org. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Mike Maciag (December 13, 2018). "Made in D.C.: Which areas have the highest share of D.C.-born residents". DC Policy Center. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Ally Schweitzer (October 19, 2017). "Who Says 'No One's From D.C.'? Not Black Washingtonians". WAMU. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Richards, Mark David (November 2002). "10 Myths About Washington, DC" (PDF). DC Vote. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-01-17. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  6. ^ Tavernise, Sabrina (2011-07-17). "Washington, D.C., Loses Black Majority". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Demographic Change in Washington, D.C.: Taking the Long View | Urban Institute". www.urban.org. 2011-03-29. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  8. ^ Bureau, US Census. "The District of Columbia Gained More Than 87,000 People in 10 years". Census.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ Bureau, US Census. "The District of Columbia Gained More Than 87,000 People in 10 years". Census.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)