Federal district · DC · #23 nationally
Washington, District of Columbia: 702,250 residents as of July 1, 2024 (Census Vintage 2024). Ranked #23 nationally. Washington is included as a special case — the seat of federal government, reported under PEP with FUNCSTAT='N' (nonfunctioning legal place).
2024 population
702,250
Census Vintage 2024, July 1, 2024
2020 base
689,545
April 1, 2020 census base
4-yr change
+12,705
2020 base → 2024; within V2024
4-yr change %
+1.8%
Within V2024 only
1-yr change
+14,926
2023 → 2024 estimate
1-yr change %
+2.2%
Within V2024 only
Density
11,488
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
61.1
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
National rank
#23
of 19,479 cities
State rank
#1
of 1 in District of Columbia
Population is shown in two parts because Vintage 2024 and Vintage 2019 use different methodologies and reference populations. The 2010 → 2024 span cannot be expressed as a single growth number — see methodology §6.
Vintage 2024 · annual estimates
| Year | Population | Reference date |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 base | 689,545 | April 1, 2020 |
| 2020 | 670,917 | July 1, 2020 |
| 2021 | 669,256 | July 1, 2021 |
| 2022 | 676,725 | July 1, 2022 |
| 2023 | 687,324 | July 1, 2023 |
| 2024 | 702,250 | July 1, 2024 |
These two tables use different Census vintages. They are not directly comparable across the 2019/2020 line. See the methodology for the seam.
Vintage 2019 · annual estimates · separate vintage
| Year | Population | Reference date |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 base | 601,767 | April 1, 2010 |
| 2010 | 605,226 | July 1, 2010 |
| 2011 | 619,800 | July 1, 2011 |
| 2012 | 634,924 | July 1, 2012 |
| 2013 | 650,581 | July 1, 2013 |
| 2014 | 662,328 | July 1, 2014 |
| 2015 | 675,400 | July 1, 2015 |
| 2016 | 685,815 | July 1, 2016 |
| 2017 | 694,906 | July 1, 2017 |
| 2018 | 701,547 | July 1, 2018 |
| 2019 | 705,749 | July 1, 2019 |
Place type · nonfunctioning_legal_place
Washington, DC is a special case in the dataset. The District has FUNCSTAT='N' (nonfunctioning legal place) because it has no incorporated municipal government — it is the federal capital district. The Census Bureau publishes annual PEP estimates for it, and it is included here as a single record. DC has no in-state neighbors in this dataset. See the methodology.
Washington is ranked #23 of 19,479 U.S. cities by 2024 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Oklahoma City, OK · #22 · 712,919 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: El Paso, TX · #24 · 681,723 residents.
Sources · provenance
Population figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024 (reference date July 1, 2024). Land area, water area, and representative coordinates come from the 2025 U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer. The GEOID for Washington is 1150000.
Full source detail: /sources/. Inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2024 seam: /methodology/.
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