Photo by Mr. T in DC
The District’s reputation as “Chocolate City” is still intact, but only barely, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. D.C. is continuing along a trend line that is giving the city a younger and whiter population.
As of July 2012, 323,746, or 50.05 percent, of the District’s population was “black or African-American,” a figure that includes both Hispanic and non-Hispanic residents. Excluding Hispanic residents, and blacks make up 48.6 percent of the city’s population, the Census Bureau found. Hispanics make up about 10 percent of the total population.
The District’s fastest-growing demographic segment since 2010 has been white adults between the ages of 25 and 39, with 48,039 residents in that group as of the Census’ most recent tally. The city took on roughly 6,500 new white residents of all ages between July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2012, while it added only about 1,700 new black residents over that same period.
It’s more evidence of a decades-long shift that has been underway in the District since 1970, when the portion of black residents peaked at 70 percent. D.C. is also skewing younger in recent years, with the median age dropping to 33.6 years in 2012, down slightly from 33.8 years in 2010. The racial split is also evident in the age breakdown. A majority of residents over 50 years old are black. Meanwhile, the 25-to-39-year-old group is 53.2 percent white.
There is also something of a mini-baby boom occurring in D.C. Overall, the population has added about 6,000 children under the age of five. Much of that growth is likely occurring in wards 1 and 2. Last December, the Census Bureau told D.C. Public Schools that those parts of the city should expect the greatest amount of additional school enrollment over the next decade.
But the main finding of the Census’ new report is clear. While D.C. remains a city where blacks make up a majority of the population (when counting Hispanics), the majority is razor-thin, and in the next batch of statistics might slip down to a plurality.
