More empty nesters and twentysomethings are living in the District and are largely responsible for the city’s first population boom in 50 years, new census data show. Meanwhile, the number of school-age children has dropped and those in their late 30s and early 40s have declined as families move out of the city.
The phenomenon is a national trend following the rise of cities over the last decade as massive revitalization efforts have attracted young professionals starting out and baby boomers who want to downsize, said Benjamin Orr, a Brookings Institution analyst.
| Empty nesters, twentysomethings rising in D.C. | ||||||
| City’s total population increased 5 percent to nearly 602,000 | ||||||
| Age Group | 2010 total | 2010 share | 2000 total | 2000 share | Change over decade | |
| Under 5 years | 32,613 | 5.4% | 32,536 | 5.7% | +0.2% | |
| 5-19 years old | 91,107 | 15.1% | 103,270 | 18.0% | -11.8% | |
| 20-34 years old | 188,855 | 31.5% | 153,585 | 26.9% | +23.0% | |
| 35-44 years old | 80,659 | 13.4% | 87,677 | 15.3% | -8.0% | |
| 45-54 years old | 75,703 | 12.6% | 75,310 | 13.2% | +0.5% | |
| 55-64 years old | 63,977 | 10.6% | 49,783 | 8.7% | +29.3% | |
| 65 and older | 68,809 | 11.4% | 69,898 | 12.2% | -1.6% | |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau | ||||||
“Young people are finding the urban lifestyle attractive and [now] older people are finding it attractive as well,” he said. “It’s attractive to some people to be less reliant on cars and closer to medical services and amenities.”
The pre-senior population in the District is the fastest-growing in the city, increasing by nearly 30 percent to about 64,000 during the last decade. And while those gains were offset by the school-age population decreasing by 12 percent — or 12,000 — over the decade, the baby boomers’ population share increased to nearly 11 percent from less than 9 percent in 2000.
With that growth, homeownership in the District has increased slightly to 42 percent of residences.
“D.C. is becoming more affluent, and as it becomes more attractive, it becomes more expensive,” Orr said. “And those people are more likely to own than rent.”
On the other end, young professionals have grown to nearly one-third of the city’s total population of about 602,000. The group, twentysomethings and early thirtysomethings, increased by 23 percent from a decade ago. Experts attribute the increase to a combination of the increasing college population and new development in now-hip areas like Columbia Heights and U Street.
The population dynamics also have affected households in the city as homes with children under 18 declined by nearly 10 percent over the last decade and nonfamily households increased by 14 percent.
