Just over half of Washington-area residents say they're thriving
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A new poll paints a nuanced picture of Washington: A region its residents love, but often find difficult to live in.
Why it matters: Three of the main drivers of whether a Washingtonian is "thriving" — jobs, housing and a lack of economic stress — are exactly the areas where many locals are struggling, according to a Gallup poll of locals conducted earlier this year.
The big picture: While just over half of DMV residents (52%) say they're "thriving" — higher than the national average of 48% — 44% say they're struggling and 4% suffering, according to the poll.
Zoom in: People who live in Arlington and Alexandria (61%) and Loudoun County (59%) are most likely to be thriving. 53% say so in D.C.
- Less than half the people in Prince George's (47%) and the Fairfax area (48%) say they're thriving.
- And homeowners are considerably more likely to be thriving than renters — 57% versus 45%, a 12-point gap.
State of play: The poll looked at specific issues affecting Washingtonians, such as:
Federal cuts
The majority of Washingtonians (55%) say they or someone in their household were negatively impacted by federal job cuts or furloughs in the past year.
- Cuts hit hardest in D.C. (66%) and Arlington and Alexandria (62%).
Most people in households earning over $90,000 or more say their household was impacted, compared to 48% of those earning below $90,000.
- Meanwhile, 14% of locals say they or someone in their household used a social service like a food bank or job placement help for the first time in the past year. That jumps to 23% in Prince George's County, the metro's highest.
Job market
Locals' opinions of the DMV job market have "deteriorated dramatically" since 2023, when 65% of Washingtonians rated the availability of jobs as "good" or "excellent."
- That's dropped to 51% as of this year.
- Geography plays a factor: Only 35% of respondents in Prince George's and 41% in D.C. said they would rate the availability of good jobs highly, as opposed to 64% in the Fairfax area and 67% in Loudoun.
Housing
Washingtonians at large are fed up with the local housing market, no matter how much they make.
- Only 11% of respondents rated the availability of affordable housing as good/excellent — coming in last place out of all the regional attributes Gallup lists.
- And there's little "daylight" between the views of high- and low-income residents and renters and owners, per the poll — every group gave affordable housing overwhelmingly negative or middling ratings.
And a large chunk of Washingtonians (33%) are "somewhat" or "very worried" about paying their rent or mortgage.
- Prince George's has the highest concentration (45%) of these worried residents, despite having one of the area's highest concentrations of homeowners (74%) — a development Gallup calls "one of the more consequential shifts in the survey."
Zoom out: While the majority of Washingtonians don't plan to leave the area, 14% plan to leave in the next year and 16% are unsure.
- The reason? Primarily the increased cost of living (59%) and housing or rent (58%).
What we're watching: Washingtonians are twice as likely to think living conditions will worsen over the next five years (34%) than improve (18%).
- D.C. residents are more optimistic, with roughly equal shares expecting conditions to improve (26%) or deteriorate (25%).
Reality check: Despite residents' qualms and hesitations, most still think Washington is a good spot to live for a diverse range of people, including families with kids (73%), women and girls (71%) LGBTQ people (61%) and racial and ethnic minorities (61%).