The US capital Washington is the 27th largest city in the country. Despite the fact that this is the main administrative center of America, it is not included in any state, being a separate unit. Washington should not be confused with the state of the same name, which has its own major cities. The Americans themselves, in order not to be mistaken, call their capital DC.
Official statistics
Washington is a very noisy city. According to official census data, in 2015 the population of the city of Washington exceeded 600,000 people. But these are only those people who live directly in the city. A lot of families prefer to settle in small private sectors of the suburbs, and go to work in the capital. Due to this feature, during working hours, the population of the city of Washington increases by 71% and exceeds one million. So the city is never quiet, except during the official holidays.
Population growth rate
Track how the population of Washington has changed since its founding, using the following table.
| Years | Population, thousand people | Change in relation to the previous year, % |
| 1800 | 8, 144 | - |
| 1810 | 15, 471 | 90, 0 |
| 1820 | 23, 336 | 50, 8 |
| 1830 | 30, 261 | 69, 7 |
| 1840 | 33, 745 | 11, 5 |
| 1850 | 51, 678 | 53, 2 |
| 1860 | 75, 08 | 45, 3 |
| 1870 | 131, 7 | 75, 4 |
| 1880 | 177, 624 | 34, 9 |
| 1890 | 230, 392 | 29, 7 |
| 1900 | 278, 718 | 21, 0 |
| 1910 | 331, 069 | 18, 8 |
| 1920 | 437, 571 | 32, 2 |
| 1930 | 486, 869 | 11, 3 |
| 1940 | 663, 091 | 36, 2 |
| 1950 | 802, 178 | 21, 0 |
| 1960 | 763, 956 | -4, 8 |
| 1970 | 756, 51 | -1, 0 |
| 1980 | 638, 333 | -15, 6 |
| 1990 | 606, 9 | -4, 9 |
| 2000 | 572, 059 | -5, 7 |
| 2010 | 601, 723 | 5, 2 |
| 2015 | 672, 228 | 11,7 |
The largest number of inhabitants was registered in 1950 and reached 800 thousand people. This growth is explained very simply. After the Great Depression of the 1930s, there was little work in the United States. And the service in the state apparatus seemed the most attractive. This is what attracted thousands of families and forced them to move in search of a better life.
But everything changed radically in the 70s, after the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. Riots broke out in the city one after another. The number of victims was in the thousands. Law enforcement officers simply did not have time to follow the terrible events that took place on the streets of the city and warn them. Naturally, such an unstable situation, victims of terror and fear could not but affect the demographic situation. The number of inhabitants decreased until the beginning of the 21st century.
Surprisingly, even in the 90s, Washington was considered a very criminal city, and it was dangerous to live here. Now the situation has changed, and the capital is one of the quietest cities, and very cozy and beautiful.
Racial division of inhabitants
As we have already said, Washington is an independent territory. Its population has a very heterogeneous structure. From time immemorial, it has so happened in America that all possible races and nationalities have mixed here. Even those who consider themselves true Americans have mixed roots.
Interestingly, Washington is considered the most liberal capital in relation to sexual minorities. Therefore, there are a lot of same-sex marriages here. Follow howracial categories were distributed, the figure below will help.
Since the 1950s, African Americans have been the largest ethnic group. Of course, even now their number is large, but still representatives of the Caucasian race are in the lead. There are a lot of blacks in the capital, but they try to settle in their neighborhoods near the city limits or even go to the suburbs in search of a cheaper life.
Washington (it has a large population) is famous for the largest Hispanic group of immigrants from El Salvador and other Latin American countries. Recently, the number of Asians has been increasing. There is immigration of people from Vietnam and China. The number of refugees from Ethiopia has doubled over the past few years.
Age distribution of Washington residents
Americans love statistics. They lead her on every occasion and in every situation. There are even special research centers dealing with demographic forecasts. So, they were able to derive a formula that calculates the population of Washington for the next ten years and even takes into account all age groups. Well, how "forces were distributed" in 2015, you can see from the figure below.
As you can see, the difference in the number of people of different age groups under 60 is small. This suggests that the city is developing dynamically and young people are striving here to start a family and give birth to children. Elderly and retired people prefer to move out of the center and settle in the suburbs.
Religion
What religions do people live in a city like Washington? The population adheres to Christian views. This is the most accepted and understood by all religion. As in all of America, it is customary to celebrate Catholic holidays, which are nationwide. According to statistics, the percentage of different religious groups is approximately:
1. Christians - more than 50%.
2. Muslims - 10.6%.
3. Jews - 4.5%.
4. Representatives of other religions - 14%.
5. Atheists - 12.8%.
Surprisingly, Washington is home to the second largest Muslim community in America. 2.1% of the city's residents consider themselves to be this religion. They have their own mosque and even 134 restaurants with national cuisine.
Other statistics
The 2010 census results were stunning. As it turned out, 33,000 adults in Washington consider themselves gay, lesbian and bisexual. And this is 8.1% of the total population of the city. And this is after the government officially allowed same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia at the beginning of the same 2010.
Many residents of the capital remain illiterate, unable to read and write in English. This is due to the large influx of emigrants from poor countries. But at the same time, studies show that 85% of the population speaks English and considers it their mother tongue. There remains a large proportion of those who are accustomed to express themselves in Spanish - 8.8%. And third place in the ranking of the most commonlanguages occupies French - 1, 35%.
Despite the fact that one in three illiterates in the city, Washington (general population) is considered the most educated. Almost half of the residents have completed higher education with a bachelor's degree. Another third are graduates of specialized schools and technical schools.
As far as income is concerned, life in the US capital is not cheap. There are very high prices for food and services. The median monthly income for a single family is $58,526. This figure has not changed significantly over the past 10 years.
