Get to Know the District!

Dc Wards and city statistics on poverty, homelessness, unemployment, education, & HIV/AIDS

Who Makes Up Washington DC?

According to the U.S. Census, the number of people living in Washington DC is about 702,455 compared to 311, 591, 917 for the whole United States. The majority of the District is Black (46.4%), followed by 37.1% White and 11.1% Hispanic, with a smaller percentage identifying as Asian (4.3%.) Considering that 13.3% of Washingtonians were born in a foreign country and 14.5% speak a language other than English in their home, it is likely that the people you tutor will speak another language besides English.

Let's break down some of the issues …

Poverty: In 2018, 17.4% of the population of DC lived below the poverty level as compared to the national poverty rate of 12.3%. The latest Census statistics tell us that the share of residents living in poverty has decreased. In 2017, nearly 110,000 residents, or 16.6 percent of residents, had incomes below $25,100 for a family of 4. That means 10,000 fewer residents are living in poverty compared to the year before. While that’s good news—and likely due to a growing economy and recent increases in DC’s minimum wage—our poverty rate is no lower than it was in 2007, prior to the Great Recession. This means that poverty has come down after rising sharply in the Great Recession, but we haven’t made long-term progress in reducing poverty. And, our youngest residents are among those most likely to be living in poverty, with 26% of DC children growing up in families working hard to make ends meet. The vast majority of children living in poverty are children of color. (DC Fiscal Policy Institute)

Homelessness:  The 2019 Point-in-Time (PIT) Enumeration resulted in a total count of 9,794 literally homeless individuals. This is the lowest number of persons counted experiencing homelessness since the region began coordinating in 2001, and the first time that the literally homeless total has been below 10,000 persons. The region’s number of persons experiencing homelessness decreased by 7% (or 686 people) from 2018. This decrease follows a similar reduction recorded in 2018, when the PIT count found the number of persons experiencing homelessness decreased by six percent and 648 persons. Seven of nine jurisdictions recorded decreases in the number of persons experiencing homelessness in 2019 from the 2018 count. Overall in 2019, the number of homeless individuals decreased by 7%, or nearly 690 people, when compared to 2018. It follows a similar reduction recorded in 2018, when the number decreased by 6%, according to the study.

Unemployment: The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES) reported today that the preliminary November job estimates show an increase of 9,300 jobs for a total of 2,752,800 jobs in the Washington Metropolitan Division. The private sector increased by5,900 jobs, while the public sector payrolls increased by 3,400 jobs. The Washington Metropolitan Division's not seasonally adjusted November 2018 unemployment rate was 3.1percent, which is down 0.1 percentage point from the October rate of 3.2%.  The Washington Metropolitan Division’s unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in November 2017,which is down 0.5 percentage points from the current unemployment rate of 3.1 percent. (Department of Employment Services)

Education: As of 2017, the number of people age 25 years or older who have graduated from high school or completed the GED or equivalent credential is between 64% to 90%. Washington indicates it has 90% percent high school graduates or better which is more than all other places in the area. Washington illustrates it has 55% percent with a bachelor’s degree or higher which is the highest of all places in the area. Washington shows it has 10% percent who dropped out of school which is the 3d smallest percent who dropped out of school of all the other places in the area.

HIV/AIDS: Number of people living with HIV, 2016: 14,495. Percent of people living with HIV, by Race/Ethnicity, 2016: 72.2% Black | 15.9% Hispanic/Latinx | 7.9% White. Percent of people living with HIV, by Sex, 2016: 73.0% male /27.0% female. Rate of people living with HIV per 100,000 population, 2016: 2,460. New HIV Diagnoses. Number of new HIV diagnoses, 2017: 319. Rate of people newly diagnosed with HIV per 100,000 population, 2017: 54. HIV Mortality. Number of deaths of people with HIV, 2016: 238. Rate of deaths of people with HIV per 100,000 population, 2016: 40. (AIDSVu)