Best Online Colleges in District of Columbia

Benefits of Studying Online in the District of Columbia

Often overshadowed by its more populous neighbor, Maryland, the District of Columbia (or D.C.) is a perfect destination for people searching for a blend of city life and recreational opportunities. With fewer than 713,000 inhabitants, the District is by far the smallest and least populous in the country, accounting for just 0.2% of the nation’s population. Nonetheless, despite having ranked 49th in population size, the District ranks as the 39th in employed persons. The total employed workforce at the end of 2022 was 768,200, putting the District’s share of the nation’s workforce at 0.5%.

Employment Stats

In the last year, the District’s employed workforce had grown by 1.2%, with 9,100 new jobs added. While this puts the District at the bottom of the list in terms of growth, the decrease in joblessness has nonetheless signaled a positive trend for the future. Unfortunately, the District still lags behind the national median employed workforce by more than 1.2 million persons (-61% to be exact). That being said, it’s expected that this margin will continue to shrink as the District’s economy grows.

When it comes to a head-to-head comparison with other states, the District of Columbia just beat out West Virginia, which has a total employed workforce of 711,000, giving the District an advantage of just 57,000 (an advantage of 8.00%). Idaho, whose employed population totaled 828,000, just edged out the District for 38th place, with a difference of 60,000 (or -7.2%). That being said, the District still sits a whopping 96% below the nation leader (California), which shouldn’t come as a surprise given that it accounts for just 0.2% of the nation’s population.

Job Opportunities

Job diversity is also a major factor of the District of Columbia, with 489 unique occupation types. This gives the state the 51st rank and trails the national median of 722 occupations by -32.3%. However, the city is a major hub for white collar and technology-heavy professions, so if that’s your field of choice, then the District of Columbia may be the perfect place for you to grow and gain meaningful experience.

The District of Columbia is also home to a number of prestigious universities and colleges. For instance, Howard University is the 3rd oldest university in the country and only one of 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Georgetown University is another great option, having achieved world-renown status as one of the top universities in the world. With a student population of over 17,000, the university offers a large variety of programs, including a number of world-famous graduate schools. American University is also another popular choice, offering a range of undergraduate and graduate programs, and provides some of the best extracurricular activities in the country.

*All data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023)