A Look at How Many People Left DC in 2020 (And Where They Went)

• July 8th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

A new report released on Thursday sheds light on how many people left DC during the pandemic. 

The report by District, Measured finds that approximately 29,360 people moved out of DC in 2020, compared to 11,480 net move-outs in 2019. Based on what movers indicated on their change-of-address forms, roughly 9,335 of the 17,882 additional moves were permanent. 

Between March and December, 60 more people per 1,000 residents in the following zip codes moved out compared to 2019: 20036 (the Dupont Circle area, between K and Q Streets NW), 20009 (Columbia Heights through Adams Morgan, southwest of 11th and Irving Streets NW), 20005 (Logan Circle, southwest of 11th and Q Streets to Penn Quarter), and 20024 (Southwest). This means that in the 20009 zip code, 5,500 people moved out in 2020 compared to 1,700 in 2019.

Meanwhile, there was almost no change in net migration to or from the 20012 zip code (Shepherd Park and Takoma), and 20015 (Chevy Chase and Barnaby Woods) was the only zip code where there was a year-over-year increase. 

The data shows that, of people that moved out of DC, 31% stayed in the DC area. The 20817 zip code of Bethesda had 63% more people move there from DC in 2020 than in 2019, and the 22203 and 22206 zip codes of Arlington also had more than 50% more people move there from DC in 2020.

As for high-volume destinations outside of the immediate area, Annapolis and Baltimore came in first and second place between March and December 2020, with 294 and 215 respective moves. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (156); Lewes, Delaware (62); Columbia, MD (40); and Charlottesville, VA (36) were all new entrants on the list of top high-volume destinations last year.

USPS change-of-address data does not include in-migration from abroad.

Photo by Ted Eytan.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-look-at-how-many-people-left-dc-in-2020/18470.