Blog posts | ora-cfo

D.C. lost at least 17,000 more people during the pandemic than in the prior year, according to USPS data on net moves. At least 9,000 of the loss appears to be permanent.

When the pandemic restrictions were put in place last Spring, there was plenty of anecdotal evidence that people were leaving D.C. as white-collar workers became remote, others were laid off, and schools shut down. Data from the United States Postal Service (USPS), which records changes of address, provides a clue as to how many people left D.C. and where they went.

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The Self-Employment Income Drop

A new study from the Office of Revenue Analysis shows that most Washington, DC tax filers who relied on self-employment for their livelihood from 2010-2018 had low incomes and had more stagnant incomes than their neighbors with steady wage employment. Most strikingly, when a tax filer switched from a typical wage-earning job to self-employment, their reported income dropped by 20-50 percent. Switching away from self-employment had the opposite effect, raising incomes by 65-85 percent. The minimum wage appears to play a key role in driving this divergence for some.

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Recent Changes in the District’s Apartment Market: Transitory or Structural?

The District of Columbia’s apartment market has experienced some remarkable changes over the last 24 months. Notably, the vacancy rate for market rate apartments in the District rose from 6.9 percent in fiscal year 2019 to 10.6 percent in fiscal year 2020 and 8.7 percent in fiscal year 2021 (See here).

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Pandemic led to DC population loss, but data suggests population rebound last summer

As has been reported, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the District (D.C.), after years of population increases, lost nearly 20,000 people between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021.

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Overview of DC’s Dedicated Taxes, FY 2010 – FY 2019

Like many other states and municipalities, the District sometimes earmarks or dedicates tax revenue for specific purposes rather than general budget purposes. One of the most common examples of a dedicated tax is the motor fuel tax used to fund roads and highways and it has become more popular as a way to raise tax revenue.

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Who Claims the DC Earned Income Tax Credit?

This blog expands on our review, here, of the DC Earned income tax credit (DC EITC) looking at the distribution of DC EITC recipients by income, qualifying children and childless workers, and the geographic location. The benefit is concentrated among working families with dependents earning between $10,000 to $25,000 between 2006 and 2017.

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Brief Overview of DC EITC

The DC Earned Income Tax Credit (DC EITC) was created as an add-on to the federal earned income tax credit to encourage work, reduce poverty, and provide additional tax relief to low-income taxpayers, especially those with dependent children in the District. In TY 2017, 62,513 Washingtonians claimed about $57 million in earned income tax credits in addition to $122 million in federal EITC.

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How D.C.’s neighborhoods have changed since 2002

Last week we looked at the types of families living in different neighborhoods in 2013. Today we see how the mix of families in neighborhoods has changed since 2002.

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The role of demographics in NAEP and PARCC scores

Last week, the District received its results for two school assessment tests: the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). NAEP is a national test of reading and math skills given to 4^th and 8^th graders. PARCC is the District’s replacement for the DC CAS, and it is connected to the Common Core curriculum.

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D.C.’s Cashiers and Janitors Are More Likely to Live in the City than Other Workers, but That’s Changing

Nearly 800,000 people work in the District of Columbia, yet only about 30 percent of the District’s workers live in the city-proper. Workers in low-wage jobs are more likely to live in the city than those in middle- and high-wage jobs. Thirty-nine percent of D.C.’s workers in low-wage jobs lived in the city between 2010 and 2014, compared to 30 percent in middle-wage jobs and 27 percent in high-wage jobs.

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