THE NEW DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: WHAT POPULATION GROWTH AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE MEAN FOR THE CITY

The District of Columbia was a magnet for new residents in the first part of the twenty-first century. Drawn by good jobs, new condos, and burgeoning entertainment districts, the city attracted thousands of young professionals who might have otherwise settled in the region's suburbs. At the same time, some of the District's longer-term residents are leaving the city. The growing population provides a boon to the city, but is also leads to an increasing social, economic, and cultural divide. Between 2000 and 2010, the District of Columbia gained nearly 30,000 people. The 5.2% population growth in the last decade marks a turnaround for the city, which has lost residents in every decade since 1950. Population growth was fueled by an influx of white residents and an unprecedented loss of African Americans. This article explores the population and demographic trends in the District of Columbia between 2000 and 2010 by examining the socioeconomic characteristics of the city's in-migrants, out-migrants, and non-movers to explore evidence of gentrification. Using microdata from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey, this research also uses logistic regression to analyze the factors associated with out-migration from the city and movement within the city.