Population continues to grow as more people move back into the District
More and more people are continuing to move to the nation’s capital, and a recent U.S. census data showed that D.C. had one of the healthiest population rebounds in the country last year.
From July 2022 to July 2023, the District grew by more than 8,000 people or about 1.2% — that’s the seventh-largest growth in the country by percent growth, according to a District news release citing the Census.
The data showed that it’s the second year of population growth for D.C. and the first year since 2019 that the city saw more people move into the city rather than leave for another state.
From 2020 through 2022, D.C. saw people leaving the city en masse as part of the COVID-19 pandemic flight.
“D.C.’s Comeback is underway, and you can see it in these numbers,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser in a statement back in December. “In our Comeback Plan, we are clear: we are focused on keeping people in DC, bringing people to DC, and making sure that every neighborhood is a vibrant place for people to live, work, visit, and play. We are going to continue to attract great employers, to invest in housing and economic opportunity, and to prioritize our city’s greatest asset: our people.”
South Carolina and Florida were No. 1 and 2, respectively, in population growth percentage over the same span.
In terms of numeric growth, Virginia added more than 36,000 people, the eighth-largest amount. Maryland is one of 11 states that lost population in 2022 and is currently seeing gains — 16,272 in the last year, according to the Census.
The South, which includes D.C., Maryland and Virginia, was the region that saw the most growth, 1.1%. The Northeast was the only region that saw population decline.