Is DC still ‘Chocolate City?’ Here’s what Census data tells us – WTOP News

D.C. is no longer the “Chocolate City” it once was. Experts say a diversifying economy, new waves of immigration and shifting housing patterns have transformed the District into one of the most diverse cities in the U.S.

After the 1930s, D.C. was very segregated, according to Michael Bader, an associate professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University. There was a “distinct line” down 16th Street, separating an almost exclusively white population to the west side from the almost entirely Black population to the east.

But that began to chang in the 1980s, when Bader said D.C. became a new immigrant destination. He attributed the shift in part to changes in federal immigration laws in the 1960s.

And in the decades since, D.C.’s population has continued to evolve. While the city’s Black population has remained about the same, Latino and Asian populations have grown.

“It’s become one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the country,” Bader said. “D.C. itself is one of the most diverse cities in the country.”

From 2021 to 2024, the population of people identifying as Black or African American stayed about the same, according to a WTOP analysis of census data. In July 2021, 305,972 residents identified as Black or African American only. In July 2024, that number was 304,452, representing less than half the city’s population.

However, Hamilton Lombard, a Virginia-based demographer, said D.C.’s Black population hasn’t declined, “It’s just that it hasn’t grown. The rest of the city’s population has grown, and within that, you have a lot more people who say, ‘I’m Black and something else,’ who in the past used to just say they’re Black. It can look like there’s been a substantial decline when I think arguably it’s been fairly stable.”

Because of gentrification along the 16th Street corridor, neighborhoods such as Shaw, U Street and Petworth, once almost exclusively Black, have become more integrated, Bader said. In some places, he said there are census tracts “that are predominantly white.”

In many cases, Bader said, middle class Black D.C. residents are leaving the city for the same reasons anyone else does.

“A lot of Black middle class folks move to Prince George’s County or Montgomery County for the same reasons that white folks did,” Bader said. “There’s more space. The schools tended to be better or have better reputations.”

Home prices have motivated some people to buy houses in the D.C. region’s suburbs. Lombard said Fairfax County in Virginia and Montgomery County in Maryland have “seen the share of the population that’s Black rise over the last decade or two.”

With the emergence of Amazon HQ2 in Northern Virginia and presence of the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, the D.C. region has diversified its economy, which has made it more attractive to people looking to move.

The divide that once existed along 16th Street broke down because of gentrification and new people moving into the area, Bader said. An emphasis on developing Chinatown and Penn Quarter also helped the city’s growth, he said.

“We often think about gentrification as the sole cause for Black folks moving to the suburbs,” Bader said. “And that’s not the only reason. It’s something I hear a lot that I think is important to realize, that middle class Black folks are moving to the suburbs, many of them for the same reasons that all racial groups move there.”

Lombard, meanwhile, is monitoring how attractive D.C. is for young adults. The city’s plans to convert office spaces into residential buildings could prevent young people from leaving and encourage others to move closer, he said.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.