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D.C.’s explosive growth continued over the past decade, census data shows | Washington Post

April 27, 2021
  • D.C. Policy Center

On April 26, 2021, D.C. Policy Center researcher Sunaina Kathpalia was quoted by the Washington Post:

Sunaina Kathpalia, a demographics researcher at the D.C. Policy Center, said that the slowed population growth in the latter half of the decade is “not a sign of some kind of doom.”
“It is part of a cycle,” she said. “D.C. had a dramatic boom in population, and now it’s just leveling out. Births in the District remain really strong and so does international migration, and I think they will continue to offset any losses.”

Kathpalia identified the District’s turning point as, ironically, the Great Recession.
“When the nation’s economy is not doing too well, more people come into the city because there’s a steady flow of jobs,” she said. “On the other hand, when it’s doing better, we see a relatively larger outflow of residents, because there’s generally more opportunities regardless of the location, and a better cost of living.”

Read more: D.C.’s explosive growth continued over the past decade, census data shows | Washington Post

Related: The District’s population grows for the 14th year in a row, but at a weaker rate | D.C. Policy Center

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D.C. Policy Center


Established in 2016, the D.C. Policy Center is a non-partisan research and policy organization committed to advancing policies for a strong and vibrant economy in the District of Columbia. Through rigorous research and collaboration, the D.C. Policy Center develops and tests policy ideas, disseminates its findings, and engages in constructive dialogue and debate.

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