DC Population Declines By Largest Percentage In Nation

Mark Hand
Updated ·2 min read

DC/VIRGINIA — The District of Columbia’s population dropped by 2.9 percent over the last year, the largest percentage drop in population in the nation, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.

D.C. reported a net loss of 20,043 residents over the last year, lowering its population to 670,050 in 2021. There were 690,093 people living in D.C. in 2020. Vermont and Wyoming have smaller populations than D.C.

The Census Bureau said Tuesday that the decline in D.C.'s population over the last year can be “attributed to negative net domestic migration (-23,030), which was large enough to offset gains from natural increase (2,171) and net international migration (1,128).”

Virginia’s population grew over the last year by 0.1 percent to 8,642,274 as of July 1, ranking it as the 12th most populous state. A year ago, Virginia's population was 8,631,383.

(U.S. Census Bureau)
(U.S. Census Bureau)

Over the past 11 years, Virginia's population has increased by more than 640,000 people. In 2010, Virginia's population was 8,001,024, according to the Census Bureau.

In Virginia, 78.2 percent of the population is 18 and older, while in D.C. 81.8 percent of the population is 18 and older.

The U.S. population grew by only 0.1 percent over the past year, the slowest growth rate in the history of the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the slower population growth, the Census Bureau said.

Three states had populations above 20 million in 2021: California at 39,237,836; Texas at 29,527,941; and Florida at 21,781,128. The largest net gains in population were Florida at 220,890, Texas at 170,307, and Arizona at 93,026.

Twenty-five states experienced natural decreases in 2021, where there were more deaths than births. Florida had the highest natural decrease of 45,248, followed by Pennsylvania at 30,878, and Ohio at 15,811.

In 2021, 20 states and the District of Columbia had a net loss in residents. The states with the largest net population losses were California, which lost 367,299 residents, New York, which lost 352,185 residents, and Illinois, which lost 122,460 residents.

This article originally appeared on the Washington DC Patch