District of Columbia population: race, households, income and change

The District of Columbia is counted by the Census Bureau alongside the 50 states. It has one city, Washington, which has had the same boundaries as the District since 1895, according to the Census Bureau's geography guide for the District of Columbia. Every figure on this page therefore describes both "DC" and "Washington, DC". The site does not cover neighborhoods or the wider metro area.

Is DC still majority Black?

No. In 2005, the first year of this American Community Survey series, 56.3% of District residents were non-Hispanic Black. The share was 50.5% in 2010, 46.5% in 2015 and 44.1% in 2019. In 2025 it was 38.0% (±0.9 percentage points), down from 40.7% in 2024², a statistically significant one-year fall. Nationally, the share was 11.9% in 2005 and 11.7%⁹ in 2025.

District of ColumbiaUnited States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2005-2019 and 2021-2025. ACS 1-year estimates; no standard 1-year release for 2020. Shaded band: 90% margin of error.

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Year	District of Columbia	United States
2005	56.3% ±0.3	11.9% ±0.0
2006	54.9% ±0.4	12.2% ±0.0
2007	54.2% ±0.2	12.2% ±0.0
2008	52.8% ±0.5	12.1% ±0.0
2009	52.7% ±0.3	12.1% ±0.0
2010	50.5% ±0.3	12.3% ±0.0
2011	49.5% ±0.3	12.2% ±0.0
2012	48.8% ±0.2	12.3% ±0.0
2013	48.0% ±0.4	12.3% ±0.0
2014	47.7% ±0.3	12.3% ±0.0
2015	46.6% ±0.3	12.3% ±0.0
2016	46.4% ±0.3	12.3% ±0.0
2017	45.4% ±0.4	12.3% ±0.0
2018	44.4% ±0.4	12.3% ±0.0
2019	44.2% ±0.4	12.4% ±0.0
2021	42.7% ±0.4	11.8% ±0.0
2022	41.7% ±0.6	11.9% ±0.0
2023	40.2% ±0.8	11.8% ±0.0
2024	40.7% ±0.5	11.8% ±0.0
2025	38.0% ±0.9	11.7% ±0.0

The non-Hispanic white share moved the other way: 36.8%² in 2025, up from 29.7% in 2005⁹. Neither group is now a majority, and no other group is either.

The District still has a higher Black share than any state. The answer depends a little on the definition:

• Black alone, any ethnicity (July 1, 2025 estimates): 41.6%, the highest in the nation and 28.0 percentage points above the US figure (13.5%). Mississippi is next at 36.8%¹⁰.
• Black alone or with another race (2025 survey): 42.3% (±0.6 percentage points¹¹).
• Black alone, not Hispanic (2025 survey): 38.0%².

The Census Bureau's estimates show the decline continuing after the 2020 Census: the Black alone share went from 43.7% in 2020 to 41.6%¹⁰ in 2025.

The other three in five

Hispanic or Latino residents of any race make up 12.9% of the population in the 2025 survey, 7.6 percentage points below the US figure (20.5%)². Central American origins outnumber Mexican origins: in 2020–2024, people of Central American origin were 4.2% of all residents, 2.2 percentage points above the US figure (2.0%), against 2.4% of Mexican origin and 2.4%¹² of South American origin.

Non-Hispanic Asian residents are 5.5%, up from 4.9% in 2024, and non-Hispanic residents of two or more races 5.9%, up from 4.7% in 2024². On the Census Bureau's diversity index, the chance that two people chosen at random belong to different groups, the District scores 69.7, the 4th most diverse¹³ of the 50 states and DC.

Single group (adds to 100%)Alone or in combination with other races

Black, not Hispanic38.0% 42.3%

White, not Hispanic36.8% 49.0%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)12.9%

Two or more races, not Hispanic5.9%

Asian, not Hispanic5.5% 7.9%

Some other race, not Hispanic0.8%

American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic0.1% 2.0%

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic0.0% 0.2%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B03002; Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B02009. The dark bars are mutually exclusive and add to 100%. The light bars count everyone who reported the race, alone or with another race and of any ethnicity, so they overlap and add to more than 100%.

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Group	Share (single group)	MOE	Alone or in combination
Black, not Hispanic	38.0%	±0.9	42.3%
White, not Hispanic	36.8%	±0.2	49.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	12.9%		–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	5.9%	±0.9	–
Asian, not Hispanic	5.5%	±0.2	7.9%
Some other race, not Hispanic	0.8%	±0.5	–
American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic	0.1%	±0.1	2.0%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic	0.0%		0.2%

African immigration adds a layer the race totals do not show. Of the District's 102,693 foreign-born residents in 2025, 17.1% were born in Africa, 11.2 percentage points above the US figure (5.9%)¹⁴. In 2020–2024, 1.4% of residents reported Ethiopian ancestry, the highest¹⁵ share of any state. After English, the most common home languages are Spanish (9.4% of residents 5 and older), French (incl. Cajun) (1.6%) and Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese) (0.91%¹⁶).

Fewer residents than in 1950

The District's 693,645 residents on July 1, 2025 make it the 3rd smallest among the 50 states and DC, larger only than Vermont and Wyoming, and 0.20%¹ of the US population.

The census count peaked at 802,178 in 1950. Every count for the next fifty years was lower: 756,510 in 1970, 606,900¹⁷ in 1990 and 572,059 in 2000. The 2010 Census recorded the first census-to-census increase since 1950, to 601,723, and the 2020 Census counted 689,545, growth of 14.6% over the decade, 7.2 percentage points above the US figure (7.4%)⁶. Even so, the 2025 population is 0.9 times¹ its 1950 level.

Source: Census Bureau, Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990; Census Bureau, 2020 Census apportionment results and historical resident population 1910-2020; Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Census counts every ten years (April 1); estimates for July 1 after 2020.

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Year	District of Columbia
1800	8,144
1810	15,471
1820	23,336
1830	30,261
1840	33,745
1850	51,687
1860	75,080
1870	131,700
1880	177,624
1890	230,392
1900	278,718
1910	331,069
1920	437,571
1930	486,869
1940	663,091
1950	802,178
1960	763,956
1970	756,510
1980	638,333
1990	606,900
2000	572,059
2010	601,723
2020	689,545
2021	669,637
2022	674,501
2023	682,559
2024	691,310
2025	693,645

Since 2020: births and immigrants against departures

The rebound of the 2010s stalled. The annual estimates fell from 687,320¹⁸ in July 2019 to 669,637 in July 2021, then climbed back to 693,645 by July 2025. Since April 2020 the District has added only 4,101 people, 0.59%, 2.5 percentage points below the US figure (3.10%)¹.

Three forces pull against each other. From April 2020 to June 2025, births exceeded deaths by 14,157 and net international migration added 27,402, but net domestic migration was −33,903¹: more people moved to other states than arrived from them.

In the year to June 2025, the domestic loss widened again to −4,128, after shrinking to −386 the year before, while international migration fell from 6,307 to 3,915. Measured against population, DC's net domestic migration rate of −6.0 per 1,000 residents was the 4th lowest in the country, and its international rate of 5.7 per 1,000 residents the 3rd highest¹.

Births and deaths explain why the District still grew: in the year to June 2025, net migration from all sources was −213, so natural increase of 2,516 accounted for the whole gain. The 4,820 deaths that year gave a death rate of 7.0 per 1,000 residents, the 2nd lowest, in a population with few older residents. Natural increase per resident, 3.6 per 1,000 residents, was the 4th highest¹ among the 50 states and DC.

A place people pass through

In 2025, 7.5% of residents had lived in another state a year earlier (±0.9 percentage points), the highest in the nation and 5.4 percentage points above the US figure (2.1%). Only 81.8% lived in the same home as a year before, the lowest in the nation¹⁹.

District of Columbia7.5% ±0.9

Alaska4.0% ±0.6

Wyoming4.0% ±0.7

Delaware3.8% ±0.6

South Carolina3.8% ±0.2

Vermont3.8% ±0.6

Hawaii3.6% ±0.3

Idaho3.6% ±0.4

North Dakota3.5% ±0.5

Rhode Island3.5% ±0.5

United States2.1%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B07003. Whiskers show the 90% margin of error; states whose whiskers overlap may not differ significantly. Period: 2025.

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State	Moved from another state in the past year	MOE
District of Columbia	7.5%	±0.9
Alaska	4.0%	±0.6
Wyoming	4.0%	±0.7
Delaware	3.8%	±0.6
South Carolina	3.8%	±0.2
Vermont	3.8%	±0.6
Hawaii	3.6%	±0.3
Idaho	3.6%	±0.4
North Dakota	3.5%	±0.5
Rhode Island	3.5%	±0.5
United States	2.1%

The result is a population mostly born elsewhere. Just 32.4% of residents were born in the District, the 2nd lowest share, while 50.9% were born in another state: 21.9% elsewhere in the South, 14.7% in the Northeast, 8.3% in the Midwest and 6.0%¹⁴ in the West.

Arrivals and departures nearly cancel. The 2024 survey counted 52,701 people moving in from other states and 53,452 moving out. Maryland was the largest destination, taking 16,780 people, statistically larger than the flow to Virginia (9,953). Arrivals came mainly from Virginia (7,200) and Maryland (6,926), then from California, Pennsylvania and New York²⁰.

Moved to District of Columbia from

Virginia7,200 ±2,204

Maryland6,926 ±1,523

California4,559 ±1,174

Pennsylvania3,843 ±2,232

New York3,117 ±916

Illinois2,821 ±1,669

New Jersey2,547 ±899

Colorado2,351 ±1,968

Left District of Columbia for

Maryland16,780 ±3,634

Virginia9,953 ±2,300

New York4,795 ±1,495

Pennsylvania2,360 ±1,347

Texas2,287 ±1,387

California2,128 ±808

North Carolina2,078 ±1,773

Florida1,878 ±889

Source: Census Bureau, State-to-State Migration Flows, 2024. People aged 1 and over who lived in another state a year earlier (and the reverse). Survey estimates: whiskers show the 90% margin of error.

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State	Moved in from	Moved out to
Virginia	7,200 ±2,204	9,953 ±2,300
Maryland	6,926 ±1,523	16,780 ±3,634
California	4,559 ±1,174	2,128 ±808
Pennsylvania	3,843 ±2,232	2,360 ±1,347
New York	3,117 ±916	4,795 ±1,495
Illinois	2,821 ±1,669	–
New Jersey	2,547 ±899	–
Colorado	2,351 ±1,968	–
Texas	–	2,287 ±1,387
North Carolina	–	2,078 ±1,773
Florida	–	1,878 ±889

11,347.8 people per square mile, and no rural residents

The District covers 61 square miles of land, the smallest in the nation²². Its population density of 11,347.8 people per square mile is the most densely populated in the nation, more than a hundred times the US figure of 96.7 people per square mile²¹. At the 2020 Census, 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 0.0%²³ in rural ones.

Density shapes the housing stock: 44.9% of homes are in buildings with 20 or more units and only 9.6% are single-family detached houses, against 60.9%²⁴ nationally.

Working-age adults, living alone

Residents aged 18 to 64 are 68.5% of the population, the highest in the nation. Children are 17.9% and people 65 and older 13.6%, the 2nd lowest share. The median age, 35.0 years, is 4.5 years below the US figure (39.5 years) and the 2nd youngest³ in the country. With so few children and older people for each working-age adult, the District's dependency ratio of 46.0 is the lowest in the nation¹⁰.

MenWomenUnited States

MenWomen

85+

80–84

75–79

70–74

65–69

60–64

55–59

50–54

45–49

40–44

35–39

30–34

25–29

20–24

15–19

10–14

5–9

0–4

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Share of the total population in each age group. Vertical ticks: the United States.

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Age	Men (%)	Women (%)	US men (%)	US women (%)
0-4	2.79	2.70	2.76	2.65
5-9	2.72	2.60	2.96	2.83
10-14	2.31	2.29	3.08	2.95
15-19	2.46	2.63	3.31	3.16
20-24	3.11	4.19	3.43	3.28
25-29	4.88	6.44	3.46	3.37
30-34	5.08	5.87	3.41	3.38
35-39	4.61	4.93	3.38	3.40
40-44	3.63	3.90	3.21	3.27
45-49	2.71	2.94	2.93	3.03
50-54	2.23	2.42	2.83	2.96
55-59	2.20	2.27	2.86	3.02
60-64	2.14	2.34	2.96	3.21
65-69	1.84	2.17	2.75	3.08
70-74	1.50	1.95	2.26	2.64
75-79	1.13	1.61	1.71	2.08
80-84	0.70	1.05	1.00	1.32
85+	0.63	1.05	0.78	1.28

Women outnumber men by 45,119 (±1,689²⁵). The sex ratio of 87.8 men per 100 women is the lowest in the nation²⁶.

Households look unlike those anywhere else:

• Living alone: 49.7% of households are one person, the highest in the nation. The next highest state, North Dakota, is at 33.5%.
• Families: only 39.8% of households are families and 26.1% are married couples; both shares are the lowest in the nation²⁷.
• Size: the average household has 1.97 people, the smallest in the nation, down from 2.02 in 2024²⁸.
• Marriage: 55.0% of residents 15 and older have never married, the highest in the nation²⁹.

Births are scarce relative to the number of women of childbearing age. The total fertility rate in 2024 was 1.11 births per woman, the lowest in the nation and 31% below the US figure (1.60). Among women in their late twenties, the birth rate of 30.3 per 1,000 women aged 25 to 29 is 66% below the US figure (89.5 per 1,000 women aged 25 to 29)³⁰. Per resident, though, the 2024–25 birth rate of 10.6 per 1,000 residents is the same as the US figure (10.6 per 1,000 residents)¹: the fertility rate is built from births per woman of childbearing age, the crude rate from births per resident, and the District has many working-age adults and few older residents.

Top of the income table, and near the top for poverty

By most income measures the District ranks first. Median household income was $109,505 in 2025 (±$7,573), $24,725 (29%) above the US figure ($84,780); its rank is between 1st and 8th once sampling error is counted, and it is higher than Virginia; not statistically different from Maryland⁴. Median family income, $169,085, is the highest in the nation³¹. 26.2% of households have $200,000 or more a year, the highest in the nation³².

District of ColumbiaUnited States

Under $25,00016.8% 14.0%

$25,000–$49,9999.0% 15.4%

$50,000–$99,99920.6% 27.8%

$100,000–$199,99927.4% 28.0%

$200,000 or more26.2% 14.8%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B19001. Share of households in each band of income in the past 12 months, in 2025 dollars.

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Household income	District of Columbia	MOE	United States
Under $25,000	16.8%	±1.8	14.0%
$25,000–$49,999	9.0%	±1.4	15.4%
$50,000–$99,999	20.6%	±1.9	27.8%
$100,000–$199,999	27.4%	±1.9	28.0%
$200,000 or more	26.2%	±1.3	14.8%

The bottom of the distribution is also large. 16.8% of households have less than $25,000, 2.8 percentage points above the US figure (14.0%), while fewer households than nationally fall in the middle: 9.0% have $25,000 to $50,000 (6.4 percentage points below the US figure (15.4%)) and 20.6% have $50,000 to $100,000 (7.2 percentage points below the US figure (27.8%)³²). The Gini index of income inequality, 0.515 (±0.012), ranks between 1st and 2nd³³.

• Poverty rate: 15.9% (±1.9 percentage points), 4.1 percentage points above the US figure (11.8%); rank between 3rd and 9th.
• Children: 24.5% (±4.0 percentage points), rank between 1st and 3rd.
• Residents 65 and older: 17.8% (±2.6 percentage points), rank between 1st and 2nd⁵.
• Deep poverty, income below half the poverty line: 9.2%, rank between 1st and 5th³⁴.

Prices are high, but incomes are higher. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the District's 2024 price level at 109.9 (US = 100), the 3rd most expensive, with housing rents at 155.0, the most expensive in the nation. After that adjustment, per capita personal income of $81,872 is still the highest in the nation³⁵.

Degrees: two in three adults

64.9% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher (±2.2 percentage points), the highest in the nation; Massachusetts is second at 49.2%. The share has risen from 45.3%⁹ in 2005. Graduate or professional degrees alone account for 38.7%, 23.7 percentage points above the US figure (15.0%), and associate degrees for just 2.8%, the lowest in the nation³⁶.

District of ColumbiaUnited States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2005-2019 and 2021-2025. ACS 1-year estimates; no standard 1-year release for 2020. Shaded band: 90% margin of error.

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Year	District of Columbia	United States
2005	45.3% ±1.6	27.2% ±0.1
2006	45.9% ±1.6	27.0% ±0.1
2007	47.5% ±1.6	27.5% ±0.1
2008	48.2% ±1.6	27.7% ±0.1
2009	48.5% ±1.6	27.9% ±0.1
2010	50.1% ±1.5	28.2% ±0.1
2011	52.5% ±1.6	28.5% ±0.1
2012	53.0% ±1.5	29.1% ±0.1
2013	55.1% ±1.6	29.6% ±0.1
2014	55.0% ±1.5	30.1% ±0.1
2015	56.7% ±1.5	30.6% ±0.1
2016	56.8% ±1.5	31.3% ±0.1
2017	57.3% ±1.6	32.0% ±0.1
2018	60.4% ±1.6	32.6% ±0.1
2019	59.7% ±1.5	33.1% ±0.1
2021	63.0% ±1.9	35.0% ±0.1
2022	65.4% ±1.9	35.7% ±0.1
2023	65.9% ±1.8	36.2% ±0.1
2024	65.5% ±2.0	36.8% ±0.1
2025	64.9% ±2.2	37.4% ±0.1

These are shares of adults who live in the District, including those who moved in with a degree. The public high school graduation rate, which follows students through DC public high schools, tells a different story: 76% for the class that finished in 2022, the lowest of the 48 states and DC with published data (New Mexico and Oklahoma did not publish one) and 11.0 percentage points below the US figure (87%)³⁷.

Renting, transit and working from home

38.1% of households own their home, the lowest in the nation and down from 40.9% in 2024³⁸. Median gross rent is $2,075, the 2nd most expensive³⁹, and the median owner-occupied home is worth $715,500⁴⁰; 29.2%⁴¹ of owned homes are valued at $1 million or more.

38.0% of households have no vehicle, against 8.8%⁴² nationally. 26.9% of workers took public transportation (±1.6 percentage points), and 28.3% drove alone, 41.5 percentage points below the US figure (69.8%). Working from home peaked at 48.3%⁹ in 2021 and was 22.7% in 2025, the highest in the nation⁴³.

The labor force participation rate of 72.2% in 2025 was the highest in the nation, and so was the unemployment rate, 6.3%. In September 2026 unemployment stood at 5.6%, still the highest in the nation⁴⁴.

Health coverage, homelessness and life expectancy

Public programs reach a large share of residents. Medicaid and CHIP enrollment in June 2026 equaled 34.6% of the population, the highest in the nation, although enrollment changed by −7.8%⁴⁵ from June 2025. SNAP participants were 20.3% of residents in fiscal 2025, the 2nd highest⁴⁶ share. Only 4.3% of residents had no health insurance in 2025, 4.1 percentage points below the US figure (8.4%)⁴⁷. These are administrative counts and survey estimates; they measure different things and are not comparable.

HUD's January 2025 point-in-time count found 5,138 people experiencing homelessness, 74.2 per 10,000 residents, the highest in the nation. The count changed by −8.5% from January 2024, and 15.5% were unsheltered, 20.2 percentage points below the US figure (35.7%)⁴⁸.

Life expectancy at birth was 76.6 years in 2022, 0.9 years below the US figure (77.5 years): 79.6 years for women and 73.3 years⁴⁹ for men. The drug overdose death rate in 2024, 43.2 per 100,000, age-adjusted, was 87% above the US figure (23.1 per 100,000, age-adjusted)⁵⁰, while adult obesity, 25.5%, was the 2nd lowest⁵¹.

Among the 50 states and DC, the District also has the fewest veterans, 19,902, or 3.5%⁵³ of civilian adults.