The American Community Survey (ACS) estimates the number of adults (ages 18 and older) and children (ages 17 and younger) living in five geographies, Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), that are similar to but not the same as wards. More adults live in the center of the city (Central PUMA) while more children live east of the Anacostia River (East PUMA) and the northern part of the city (North PUMA). These patterns are the same for the two years of available data shown, 2019 and 2021.
As noted earlier, Washington, DC's population decreased between 2019 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The ACS estimates the greatest decrease in the number of children occured in the East PUMA (Wards 7 and 8), a decrease of 60% or approximately 6,800 fewer children between the two time periods. Conversely, the Central PUMA was estimated to have increased by 30% or approxinately 3,400 more children between 2019 and 2021, and the North PUMA increased by approximately 3,100 children or a 28% increase in the time period. For adults, all PUMAs experienced a decline between 2019 and 2021 but especially in the East PUMA (Wards 7 and 8), a decrease of approxinately 15,200 adults or a 133% decline. DME will update EdScape with the 2022 ACS data as soon as it available to assess whether these declines during the the coronavirus are sustained.
Estimated Number of Adults (18 and Older) and Children (17 and Younger), 2019 and 2021
Source: American Community Survey, 2019 and 2021 Note: The number of children and adults differ slightly from other EdScape pages that rely on US Census Population Estimates data. This pages relies on American Community Survey (ACS) data as the ACS includes counts at smaller geographies or PUMAs. Populations Estimates provide only citywide counts.
