9,000 D.C. Residents May Have Left Permanently During The Pandemic, Data Shows

[appalachiablue]

NPR, July 9, 2021.

Dropping rents in downtown D.C. and rising home prices in the suburbs are just two signs that the nation's capital hemorrhaged residents during the pandemic in 2020. And newly analyzed data from the U.S. Postal Service provides a clearer understanding of how significant the population loss may have been.

The city lost 2.6 times more people in 2020 than it did in 2019, with 17,882 more "net moves" recorded during the pandemic than the prior year, according to USPS numbers crunched by D.C.'s Office of Revenue Analysis. ("Net moves" refers to the difference between move-ins and move-outs.) Most moves took place after the city put in place COVID-19 restrictions, and an estimated 9,335 of them appear to be permanent.

According to the U.S. Census, in 2020 D.C.'s total population was 689,545.

But the numbers of moves — which are drawn from change-of-address forms that individuals and households file with USPS — also show a sharp increase in temporary relocations, writes Ginger Moored, a fiscal analyst with the Office of Chief Financial Officer, in a new blog post.

"When someone submits a change of address form they mark the move as permanent or temporary, and the data clearly shows a higher portion of moves than usual were temporary in 2020," Moored writes. There were an estimated 186 temporary move-outs from the city in 2019. In 2020, the number soared to 8,733..

So where did everyone go?...

Read More,
https://www.npr.org/local/305/2021/07/09/1014575503/9-000-d-c-residents-may-have-left-permanently-during-the-pandemic-data-shows

[IronLionZion]

1. WFH has last longer than anyone expected for many offices

Last edited Fri Jul 9, 2021, 04:15 PM - Edit history (1)

it varies as some offices, teams, individuals, etc. have chosen to go in person while others work from home. It's been a gradual shift for many. Many small urban apartments (like mine!) can be challenging to be stuck at home for long times so folks want more space.

I've had some neighbors and coworkers flee to the suburbs on the assumption that DC was too crowded. The opposite has turned out to be true as DC streets were pretty empty for most of last year. But now it's pretty sweet as bars/restaurants/etc. are open 100% for those who want it and most everyone I know are vaccinated. But for folks still working from home, there's no commute so more time to enjoy life, exercise, meet people for outdoor meals/drinks, or whatever.

[appalachiablue]

2. Glad you're staying, the city is a great

environment, often less commute, many attractions and the culture. I also understand people who want to move out to suburbs, more space to work remotely from home, room for a home- office and kids areas, bigger yard space.

But further out the travel distance and time to work and shop can be a hassle as you said.

For work I've done both- lengthy commutes from the city to the suburbs, and long haul in dense traffic within the city from different spread out districts.