The American Community Survey (ACS) estimates the number of adults (ages 18 and older) and children (ages 17 and younger) living in statistical geographic areas, called Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), containing at least 100,000 people. These areas are updated after the completion of the decennial census and new areas were released in 2022. The update based on the 2020 Census splits Washington, DC into 6 PUMAs, an increase of 1 over the PUMAs based on the 2010 Census.
In 2023, the East PUMA, encompassing most of the area east of the Anacostia River, has the highest concentration of both adults (approximately 99,000) and children (approximately 35,000). Historically, the neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River had the greatest number of children; this is the second year where it is also the case for adults although the gap between the East PUMA and neighboring PUMAs has closed. The Northeast PUMA contains the second most adults (approximately 99,000) while the South Central PUMA is home to the fewest children (approximately 10,000). Conversely, the North PUMA contains the second highest concentration of children (approximately 31,000) while also having the lowest number of adults (approximately 87,000).
Estimated Number of Adults (18 and Older) and Children (17 and Younger), 2019 to 2023
Source: American Community Survey, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Note: The number of children and adults differ slightly from other EdScape pages that rely on US Census Population Estimates data. EdScape uses American Community Survey data here as it includes counts at smaller geographies or PUMAs. The 2022 and 2023 PUMAs encompass different geographic areas than the 2010 and 2020 PUMAs (displayed in the 2019 and 2021 visualizations) and should not be directly compared.
