Washington, DC had 693,645 residents in the July 1, 2025 population estimate. The District’s population, demographics, work patterns, income, and housing profile show a compact capital with a highly educated, majority-renter population and substantial variation across measures and time periods.
Contents
- Population counts and recent change
- Age and sex profile
- Race, ethnicity, and nativity
- Commuting and educational profile
- Income, employment, and poverty
- Housing and household structure
Population counts and recent change
The decennial Census provides a headcount at a specific date, while annual estimates describe the population on July 1 and can be revised between releases. The 2020 Census counted 689,545 residents in the District of Columbia on April 1, 2020. That was 14.6% higher than the 601,723 residents counted on April 1, 2010, a gain of nearly 88,000 people. The 2000 Census counted 572,059 residents on April 1, 2000. (2020 Census Data Shows DC’s Population Growth Nearly Tripled Compared to Previous Decade, DC Office of Planning)
Annual estimates provide a more recent view, but they should not be treated as interchangeable with the decennial counts. The July 1, 2022 estimate was 671,803, and the July 1, 2023 estimate was 678,972. The District gained 8,023 residents between those two July estimates. (2023 Census Data Highlights Continued Population Growth in Washington, DC, DC Office of Planning; 2025 Census Data Demonstrates the District’s Continued Appeal as a Place to Live and Work, DC Office of Planning)
The revised July 1, 2024 estimate was 691,310, following the Vintage 2025 release. The July 1, 2025 estimate was 693,645. Annual population estimates are vintage-sensitive, so the revised 2024 figure is the applicable value here rather than an earlier 702,250 estimate. (2025 Census Data Demonstrates the District’s Continued Appeal as a Place to Live and Work, DC Office of Planning; U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: District of Columbia, U.S. Census Bureau)
| Measure | Population | Date or period |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 Census | 572,059 | April 1, 2000 |
| 2010 Census | 601,723 | April 1, 2010 |
| 2020 Census | 689,545 | April 1, 2020 |
| Annual estimate | 678,972 | July 1, 2023 |
| Revised annual estimate | 691,310 | July 1, 2024 |
| Annual estimate | 693,645 | July 1, 2025 |
Age and sex profile
The 2019-2023 American Community Survey five-year estimates describe a District population that is concentrated in working ages. Residents ages 18 through 64 made up 68.6% of the population. Residents under age 18 accounted for 18.7%, including 6.1% who were under age 5. Residents age 65 and older accounted for 12.7%. The District’s median age was 34.9 years. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
Females represented 52.4% of the District population, while males represented 47.6%. Those percentages describe the sex profile in the same 2019-2023 ACS five-year estimates and are separate from the age categories. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
Age also differs across the District’s wards. Ward 3 had a median age of 40.4 years, the highest among the eight wards shown in the 2019-2023 table. The ACS figures are survey estimates for the District and use 2022 ward boundaries; they are not a decennial headcount. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
Race, ethnicity, and nativity
The 2019-2023 ACS estimates show a racially diverse District. Black or African American-alone residents accounted for 43.3% of the population, and White-alone residents accounted for 39.1%. Asian-alone residents represented 4.1%. Residents identifying with two or more races represented 8.4%, while Some Other Race-alone residents represented 4.8%.
American Indian and Alaska Native-alone residents accounted for 0.3% of the population. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-alone residents accounted for 0.1%. These race categories are reported separately in the source table and should not be treated as mutually exclusive with Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
The District had 77,760 Hispanic or Latino residents, representing 11.6% of the population. Foreign-born residents represented 13.3%. Hispanic or Latino is an ethnicity measure, while the race-alone figures above are race measures, so the two parts of the profile answer different questions about the population. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
Commuting and educational profile
Among the District’s commuting-to-work population age 16 and older, 556,577 people were included in the 2019-2023 ACS measure. Working from home accounted for 29.4% of commutes, while 28.2% drove alone in a private vehicle. Public transportation accounted for 22.3%, walking for 10.0%, and carpooling in a private vehicle for 4.3%. Other transportation means accounted for 5.8%.
The District’s mean travel time to work was 30.3 minutes. Households with a vehicle represented 64.1% of all District households. Together, these measures describe both how workers traveled and how common vehicle access was among households; they are not the same population denominator. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
| Commuting measure | Share |
|---|---|
| Working from home | 29.4% |
| Drove alone | 28.2% |
| Public transportation | 22.3% |
| Walking | 10.0% |
| Other transportation | 5.8% |
| Carpooled | 4.3% |
Educational attainment was high in the same ACS estimates. Among District residents age 25 and older, 92.8% were high school graduates or higher, and 63.6% held a bachelor’s degree or higher. These are attainment measures for adults age 25 and older, not percentages of the total population. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
Income, employment, and poverty
The District’s 2019-2023 ACS median household income was $106,287. Mean household income was $157,604, and per-capita income was $75,253. The median describes the midpoint of household incomes, while the mean is an average and can be affected by higher incomes; per-capita income uses a different denominator.
The District unemployment rate was 6.5% in the same five-year ACS profile. Families had a poverty rate of 10.7%, compared with an individual poverty rate of 14.5%. Residents under age 18 had a poverty rate of 20.4%, making the age-specific measure higher than the overall individual rate. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
The 2024 ACS one-year estimates provide newer figures for two measures. The District’s median household income was $109,707, and its employment rate was 66.6%. These are 2024 ACS one-year estimates and should be read separately from the 2019-2023 five-year estimates above because the periods and estimate products differ. (District of Columbia - Census Bureau Profile, U.S. Census Bureau)
Housing and household structure
The District had 356,101 housing units in the 2019-2023 ACS estimates. Of those units, 90.3% were occupied and 9.7% were vacant. The District had 321,556 households. The occupancy percentages describe housing units, while the household count describes occupied household arrangements, so the measures are related but not identical.
Among occupied units, 58.9% were renter-occupied and 41.1% were owner-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%, compared with a renter vacancy rate of 6.8%. This combination identifies a housing market in which renter-occupied units made up the larger share of occupied homes, while the two vacancy measures were reported separately for ownership and rental units.
The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $724,600. The median monthly gross rent was $1,900. These are medians for different housing-cost measures: one concerns the value of owner-occupied units and the other concerns monthly gross rent. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)
The ACS figures in this housing section are 2019-2023 five-year survey estimates for the District of Columbia, using 2022 ward boundaries where ward context is reported. They should not be interpreted as a decennial count or as a forecast. (2019-2023 American Community Survey, Key Demographic Indicators, DC Office of Planning)