Population and Demographic Changes in DC During and After the Pandemic: Part 1 – The Role of Millennials & Women
While DC has a robust and dynamic demographic mix of residents, this analysis highlights notable trends in two key components of the District of Columbia’s demographics over the last several years: millennials and women. Figure 1 shows that millennials constitute the largest generational cohort, while Figure 2 highlights a relatively high proportion of women residents.
While millennials are the predominant generational cohort both regionally and nationally, DC’s millennial residents have an exceptionally large impact on the city’s economy because their share of the population exceeds the national and regional averages by about 12 percentage points (Figure 3). The District’s population is the second youngest among U.S. states, with a median age of 34.9. Additionally, while women outnumber men in both the region and the nation, DC stands out with 11 percent more women than men—more than twice the regional and national averages (Figure 4).
This analysis explores the role of millennials and women in shaping the population and demographic changes in DC during and following the pandemic.
Annual Population Changes 2019 to 2024
Between 2019 and 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, DC experienced a loss of 38,997 residents, accounting for 5.5 percent of its population. This decline marks the steepest two-year population decrease since 1949. However, from 2021 to 2024, the city regained 32,994 residents (4.93 percent). Despite this rebound, the 2024 population remained 6,003 residents below the 2019 level.
Of the six age cohorts shown in Figure 7, millennials were the primary drivers of population change, accounting for 48 percent of the net population loss in 2020 and 2021, and 41 percent of the net gain from 2022 through 2024. When we examine the millennial data more closely, Figure 8 reveals that the youngest millennials, in their late 20s, accounted for 78 percent of the millennial population loss during 2020 and 2021. In contrast, most of the millennial population growth from 2022 to 2024 was driven by the oldest millennial residents, aged 30 to 44.
Annual Population Changes by Generation
Millennials are the largest generational group in DC, but their age distribution is shifting as they grow older. There was a 5.6 percent increase in the oldest millennial residents, aged 30s and early forties, alongside an 11.2 percent decrease in millennial residents generally aged 25 to 29. As a result, the share of millennials in their 20s declined from 42.8 percent of the millennial population in 2019 to 38.6 percent in 2024 (Figure 9).
Annual Population Changes by Gender
As previously noted, there was a net population decrease in 2020 and 2021. Figures 10 and 11 show that both the initial population decline and the subsequent recovery from 2022 to 2024 were primarily driven by net migration of female residents.
Conclusion
Millennials and women played a key role in DC’s population shifts during and after the pandemic. Both groups heavily influenced the decline and the subsequent noticeable recovery. These patterns provide insight into how the city’s population is evolving.