Washington, DC’s economy combined $186.17 billion in current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) with $76.00 billion in personal income in 2024. The District’s population was estimated at 702,250, while its labor force contained 417,730 people. These figures describe a high-income local economy with substantial public-sector employment, a broad professional-services base, a large renter population, and significant unused office space.
Contents
- Economic output and income
- Employment and major sectors
- Businesses and establishments
- Population and labor force
- Housing market indicators
- Commercial office market
Economic output and income
The District of Columbia’s current-dollar GDP was $186.17 billion in 2024. Its inflation-adjusted GDP was $147.52 billion measured in 2017 dollars. Current-dollar GDP increased 5.5% from 2023 to 2024, while real GDP increased 1.4% over the same period. The difference between those growth measures reflects the importance of distinguishing nominal output from inflation-adjusted output.
Personal income totaled $76.00 billion in 2024. It increased 4.7% from 2023 to 2024 and grew 29.1% from 2019 to 2024. Per-capita income was $108,051 in 2024, and median household income was estimated at $111,016. These are different measures: per-capita income divides income across the population, while median household income identifies the midpoint household.
The District’s income figures sit alongside an 11.1% share of residents living in poverty in 2024. That poverty measure is a resident-level indicator and should not be read as a direct measure of the District’s total economic output.
Source: District of Columbia Data Book 2024.
The office figures also put the District’s workplace footprint in concrete terms. At the end of 2024, the large-office inventory covered more than 151 million square feet across 643 buildings. Of that inventory, 123,597,678 square feet was occupied and 26,444,888 square feet was vacant, including sublet space. The occupied total was lower than the 127,364,666 square feet reported at the end of 2019, while the vacancy rate was higher in 2024 than the 12.3% reported for 2019. These are physical-space measures for the defined large-office category, not a count of all workplaces or a direct measure of employment. The 400,000 square feet of new construction reported for 2024 is likewise a measure of completed large-office construction, not a forecast of future supply.
Employment and major sectors
Washington, DC had 769,400 wage and salary jobs in 2024. Of those, 236,700 were public-sector jobs and 532,600 were private-sector jobs. Federal employment alone accounted for 192,300 jobs. The public-sector total and federal total are not interchangeable: federal employment is one component of the broader public-sector count.
The largest supplied sector figures were professional, scientific, and technical services, with 122,500 jobs, and education and health activities, with 118,900 jobs. Leisure and hospitality accounted for 79,800 jobs. Information and financial activities together accounted for 44,000 jobs, while trade accounted for 25,600 jobs.
| Employment category | Jobs in 2024 |
|---|---|
| All wage and salary jobs | 769,400 |
| Private-sector jobs | 532,600 |
| Public-sector jobs | 236,700 |
| Federal employment | 192,300 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 122,500 |
| Education and health activities | 118,900 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 79,800 |
| Information and financial activities | 44,000 |
| Trade | 25,600 |
These figures use jobs located in Washington, DC, whereas the labor-force section below uses residents. A job count therefore should not be compared directly with the number of employed District residents as if they measured the same population.
Source: District of Columbia Data Book 2024.
Businesses and establishments
Washington, DC had 23,801 private-sector establishments in 2023. Professional, scientific, and technical services accounted for 5,738 establishments, while other services accounted for 5,809. These are establishment counts, not counts of unique companies, employees, or jobs.
Health care and social assistance had 2,358 establishments in 2023, and accommodation and food services had 2,817. Retail trade accounted for 1,653 establishments. Management and administrative services had 1,159, while finance and insurance had 1,079.
Information businesses numbered 851 establishments. Educational services had 661, construction had 506, and arts, entertainment, and recreation had 444. The range of counts shows the District’s business base across professional, consumer-facing, institutional, and construction activities.
| Selected private-sector industry | Establishments in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Other services | 5,809 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 5,738 |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,817 |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,358 |
| Retail trade | 1,653 |
| Management and administrative services | 1,159 |
| Finance and insurance | 1,079 |
| Information | 851 |
| Educational services | 661 |
| Construction | 506 |
| Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 444 |
Source: District of Columbia Data Book 2024.
Population and labor force
Washington, DC’s population was estimated at 702,250 in 2024, and the District had 335,950 households. There were 383,607 employed District residents. The labor force was 417,730 people, and the unemployment rate was 5.3% in 2024.
A later monthly measure provides a separate snapshot. In December 2025, the seasonally adjusted civilian labor force was 417,353 people, with 27,866 seasonally adjusted unemployed people and a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.7%. The December 2025 figures are seasonally adjusted and monthly; they should not be treated as a revision of the 2024 annual measures.
| Labor-market measure | Value | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| Labor force | 417,730 | 2024 |
| Employed residents | 383,607 | 2024 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.3% | 2024 |
| Seasonally adjusted civilian labor force | 417,353 | December 2025 |
| Seasonally adjusted unemployed people | 27,866 | December 2025 |
| Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate | 6.7% | December 2025 |
The December 2025 monthly figures come from the State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release—2025 M12 Results. The 2024 population, household, employment, labor-force, and annual unemployment figures come from the District of Columbia Data Book 2024.
Housing market indicators
The District had 367,125 housing units in 2023. Of these, 334,673 were occupied and 32,452 were not occupied. Renter-occupied units numbered 203,739, compared with 130,934 owner-occupied units. On these supplied counts, rental units made up the larger occupied tenure category, although the figures should be understood as counts rather than a separately supplied tenure-rate estimate.
Washington, DC issued 3,020 housing permits in 2023. In 2024, there were 5,180 existing single-family home sales, and the median existing home price was $749,340. The Federal Housing Finance Agency house-price index for Washington, DC was 623.42 in 2024. The ratio of median home price to median income was 6.75 in 2024.
| Housing indicator | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total housing units | 367,125 | 2023 |
| Occupied housing units | 334,673 | 2023 |
| Owner-occupied units | 130,934 | 2023 |
| Renter-occupied units | 203,739 | 2023 |
| Not-occupied units | 32,452 | 2023 |
| Housing permits | 3,020 | 2023 |
| Existing single-family home sales | 5,180 | 2024 |
| Median existing home price | $749,340 | 2024 |
| FHFA house-price index | 623.42 | 2024 |
| Median home price-to-income ratio | 6.75 | 2024 |
Source: District of Columbia Data Book 2024.
Commercial office market
At the end of 2024, Washington, DC had 643 large commercial office buildings. Their combined inventory totaled 151,507,453 square feet. Occupied large commercial office space totaled 123,597,678 square feet, while space vacant, including sublet space, totaled 26,444,888 square feet. The reported large commercial office vacancy rate was 18.4%.
New construction added 400,000 square feet of large commercial office space in 2024. The end-of-2024 figures describe a large-office segment, not every commercial property or every type of workspace in the District.
The supplied historical comparison shows a different office-market position at the end of 2019. Occupied large commercial office space then totaled 127,364,666 square feet, and the vacancy rate was 12.3%.
| Large commercial office indicator | End of 2019 | End of 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Occupied space | 127,364,666 sq. ft. | 123,597,678 sq. ft. |
| Vacancy rate | 12.3% | 18.4% |
The 2019 and 2024 occupancy and vacancy figures are reported for the same defined large-office category, but they are snapshots at two points in time. They do not by themselves identify the causes of the change. The 2024 office-market measures, including the building count, inventory, vacant space, occupied space, vacancy rate, and new construction, are from the District of Columbia Data Book 2024.