D.C. Officially Hits 700,000 Residents For The First Time Since 1975

For the first time in more than 40 years, the District counts over 700,000 residents—one more milestone in the city’s upward population trend.

 

The city’s official tally (as of July 1, 2018): 702,455 people.

 

Virginia and Maryland both saw modest relative increases, too. The commonwealth added 50,000 people for a total population of about 8.5 million people, while Maryland grew by 20,000 people to 6.04 million.

 

Around the country, Nevada and Arizona saw the largest relative increases—1.9 and 1.7 percent respectively—while Texas and Florida grew the most in terms of total numbers. Nine states and Puerto Rico saw declines.

 

The District set a population record of 900,000 in 1943, before seeing steady declines until 2000. The last time the city counted over 700,000 people was in 1975.

 

Since 2010, the District’s population has expanded by more than 15 percent. The large influx of newcomers has driven housing prices up, pricing many native Washingtonians out of their longtime neighborhoods.

 

The latest data shows that the rapid increases of recent years—the city was the fastest-growing “state” in 2015 and the third-fastest in 2016, with more than 1,000 residents moving in a month—has slowed somewhat.

 

D.C. added 6,764 people last year, according to data from the mayor’s office. Babies account for much of that figure, with more than 9,700 Washingtonians born this year. Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated the 700,000 milestone back in February by highlighting the birth of baby Kooper (who later came to her State of the District address). Births minus deaths totaled 4,104 people, while the remaining 2,656 came from a positive net migration total.

 

“Over the years, we’ve made big investments in making D.C. a great place live, do business, raise a family, and grow old. Our continued growth shows that those investments are paying off,” Bowser said in a press release.

 

Now we just need to find out how many cats there are.