Washington, District of Columbia demographics

Washington, DC demographics: median age 34.9; 64.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Washington city, District of Columbia · Federal district (Census place) · GEOID 1150000. The survey estimates a population of 681,294 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Washington is 34.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.1 years. There are 324,491 households (±1,816). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.9 ±0.1	34.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 681,294
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Under 18	127,314 ±2,083	18.7% MOE unavailable	18.7%	22.0%
18–34	215,260 ±1,557	31.6% MOE unavailable	31.6%	22.8%
35–64	251,561 ±2,827	36.9% MOE unavailable	36.9%	38.0%
65 and older	87,159 ±2,181	12.8% MOE unavailable	12.8%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 681,294
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Male	323,822 ±117	47.5% MOE unavailable	47.5%	49.5%
Female	357,472 ±117	52.5% MOE unavailable	52.5%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 681,294
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
White alone	258,050 ±1,318	37.9% MOE unavailable	37.9%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	286,997 ±2,136	42.1% MOE unavailable	42.1%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	2,528 ±604	0.4% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	29,748 ±641	4.4% MOE unavailable	4.4%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	336 ±108	0.0% MOE unavailable	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	37,984 ±2,774	5.6% MOE unavailable	5.6%	7.1%
Two or more races	65,651 ±2,830	9.6% MOE unavailable	9.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 681,294
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	600,142 MOE unavailable	88.1% MOE unavailable	88.1%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	81,152 MOE unavailable	11.9% MOE unavailable	11.9%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 324,491
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Married-couple family	80,186 ±2,295	24.7% ±0.7 pp	24.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	9,951 ±974	3.1% ±0.3 pp	3.1%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	42,377 ±1,483	13.1% ±0.5 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	153,560 ±2,868	47.3% ±0.8 pp	47.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	38,417 ±1,492	11.8% ±0.5 pp	11.8%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 324,491
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	65,192 ±1,963	20.1% ±0.6 pp	20.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	259,299 ±2,279	79.9% ±0.5 pp	79.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 324,491
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	153,560 ±2,868	47.3% ±0.8 pp	47.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	95,544 ±2,484	29.4% ±0.7 pp	29.4%	33.8%
Three-person households	36,106 ±1,709	11.1% ±0.5 pp	11.1%	15.3%
Four-person households	24,319 ±1,266	7.5% ±0.4 pp	7.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	9,165 ±853	2.8% ±0.3 pp	2.8%	5.9%
Six-person households	3,381 ±595	1.0% ±0.2 pp	1.0%	2.2%
Seven or more people	2,416 ±446	0.7% ±0.1 pp	0.7%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 681,294
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Native	583,906 ±2,807	85.7% MOE unavailable	85.7%	85.9%
Foreign born	97,388 ±2,807	14.3% MOE unavailable	14.3%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 640,841
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
English only	518,478 ±3,204	80.9% ±0.5 pp	80.9%	77.7%
Spanish	60,423 ±1,708	9.4% ±0.3 pp	9.4%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	10,998 ±1,216	1.7% ±0.2 pp	1.7%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	2,759 ±370	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	3,859 ±530	0.6% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	12,593 ±1,153	2.0% ±0.2 pp	2.0%	2.0%
Korean	2,208 ±438	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	5,861 ±728	0.9% ±0.1 pp	0.9%	1.1%
Vietnamese	1,362 ±575	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,349 ±344	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	4,376 ±688	0.7% ±0.1 pp	0.7%	1.1%
Arabic	2,265 ±501	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	14,310 ±1,606	2.2% ±0.3 pp	2.2%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 488,919
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	35,895 ±1,987	7.3% ±0.4 pp	7.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	70,715 ±2,226	14.5% ±0.5 pp	14.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	54,920 ±2,386	11.2% ±0.5 pp	11.2%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	13,275 ±1,149	2.7% ±0.2 pp	2.7%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	128,179 ±2,655	26.2% ±0.5 pp	26.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	185,935 ±3,328	38.0% ±0.7 pp	38.0%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 672,832
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	District of Columbia	U.S.
Same house	539,527 ±4,036	80.2% ±0.6 pp	80.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	67,279 ±3,305	10.0% ±0.5 pp	10.0%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	0 ±35 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.0%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	55,446 ±2,494	8.2% ±0.4 pp	8.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	10,580 ±1,041	1.6% ±0.2 pp	1.6%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

3.6% of Washington residents (±0.3 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 3.6% in District of Columbia and 8.4% nationally. 91.2% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Washington	District of Columbia	U.S.	Compared with District of Columbia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	3.6% ±0.3 pp	3.6%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	91.2% ±0.5 pp	91.2%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.5% ±0.2 pp	3.5%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Washington . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Washington housing and cost context or return to the city profile.