Daniel Burge

Director of the Alice M. Rivlin Initiative for Economic Policy & Competitiveness
D.C. Policy Center

Daniel Burge is the Director of the Alice M. Rivlin Initiative for Economic Policy & Competitiveness. Before joining the team at the D.C. Policy Center in late October of 2023, Daniel worked at the Center for Washington Area Studies at George Washington University. He performed data analysis for a report on mortgage market trends in the Capital Region and co-authored a policy brief on property tax lien sales. Daniel has published work in The Washington Post and Greater Greater Washington. He received his PhD in American history from Boston University and his BA from the University of Puget Sound. He will finish his Master of Public Policy (MPP) at George Washington University at the end of 2023.

You can reach Daniel at daniel@dcpolicycenter.org.

Written By Daniel Burge

Business Sentiments Survey 2024 Quarter 1 results 

The D.C. Policy Center launched the quarterly Business Sentiments Survey to provide a detailed, comprehensive picture of what the business community is experiencing to elected officials, the media, and the broader community. The inaugural survey, which was distributed in January 2024 covered businesses’ experiences during the last quarter of 2023 and expectations…

April 8, 2024 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the week: Between 2022 and 2023, population growth in lower-cost metro areas outpaced D.C. and other pricier metro areas 

In mid-March, the United States Census Bureau released data on the components of population change for metropolitan areas in the United States. The data show that the D.C. metro area’s population grew at a rate of 6 per 1,000 people between July 2022 and July 2023.  Compared to other higher-cost metro areas,[1]…

April 5, 2024 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the Week: D.C.’s population growth outpaced the region’s inner counties between 2022 and 2023, but some of the region’s suburbs and exurbs grew even faster. 

On March 14th, 2024, the United States Census Bureau released data on the components of population change for counties across the United States. The data show that, compared to other counties in the Washington metro region, the District of Columbia experienced better than average population growth. Between July 2022 and July 2023,…

March 22, 2024 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the week: Businesses have a dim six-month outlook for the D.C. economy   

The D.C. Policy Center launched its quarterly Business Sentiments Survey to provide a detailed, comprehensive picture of what the business community is experiencing to elected officials, the media, and the broader community.  In its first iteration, 91 respondents – most of whom were business owners and executives –completed the survey.    Large, established…

March 15, 2024 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the week: Employment growth in traditionally important D.C. sectors has been weak 

Before the holidays, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its preliminary employment by sector estimates for November 2023. The data show that, between November 2022 and November 2023, two traditionally important sectors for the District’s economy — the federal government and the professional, scientific, and technical services sector —experienced very weak or…

January 4, 2024 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the Week: The most recent population numbers in three charts 

On December 19th, the United States Census Bureau released its Vintage 2023 population estimates. Between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023, the District’s population grew by 1.2 percent (7th fastest across all states) to reach 678,972. D.C. bucked the national trend on this front—population growth for the nation was only 0.5…

December 22, 2023 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the week: Since January 2020, employment growth has been weak, but the regional economy has been doing better recently

When one looks at employment growth and labor force growth since January of 2020, the numbers over the past year look more promising.

December 7, 2023 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the week: Is there any job growth in D.C.?

On Friday, November 17th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its “State Employment and Unemployment Summary” for October 2023. The data show that, since October 2022, total private employment grew by 2.7 percent, while total nonfarm employment only grew by 1.7 percent. Put in numbers, private employment added 14,500 jobs, but…

November 21, 2023 | Daniel Burge

Chart of the week: Higher income households move to D.C. often and move out of D.C. even more often

In mid-September, drawing on IRS migration data spanning from 2019 to 2021, researchers at the Office of Revenue Analysis in D.C. found that people who moved out of D.C. had higher average incomes than people who moved in. This trend resulted in a loss of taxable income for the District. Using last month’s release of the one-year American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), we examined whether household migration trends from 2019 to 2022 tell a similar story, and whether anything changed in 2022.   

November 9, 2023 | Daniel Burge