What do migration and labor force trends tell us about the future of D.C. and other large, high-cost metro areas?
Many large cities including D.C. have lost population during the pandemic. Researchers have found that this exodus is pandemic-induced, and many people are leaving behind large, high-cost cities in favor of less-populated regions with a lower cost of living. In this examination of the labor market, we find that such lower-cost metro areas have emerged from the pandemic as more economically-competitive than their high-cost peers, which may shift workforce dynamics to the D.C. region’s detriment.