How Low Will The D.C. Population Go?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the District of Columbia continues to lose resident population, although city leaders deny the trend.

1 minute read

May 6, 2006, 5:00 AM PDT

By David Gest

"Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau seems to tell Washington it needs 'city living, dc style!' more than ever.

For the past several years, the bureau and District officials have engaged in a regular, fiery, and utterly predictable tango. It goes something like this: The Census Bureau reveals numbers that show the District continues to empty; the officials complain like hell."

"Then, last year, the bureau really lowered the boom. In a round of long-term projections released that April, the Census Bureau foresaw the District losing another 20,000 residents by the end of the decade. The figures have the population down to fewer than 435,000 residents by 2030 -- uncomfortably close to halving the District's historical peak, 802,178 in 1950, and even more uncomfortably close to the current population of Mesa, Ariz."

Thanks to C. P. Zilliacus

Read the full story: Honey, I Shrunk the District

Friday, May 5, 2006 in Washington Citypaper

Social / Demographics District of Columbia

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