Anacostia Today: People and Demographics

A snapshot of who lives in and around Anacostia today. A note on geography: the Anacostia neighborhood (roughly ZIP 20020) is small — only a few thousand households — so most regularly updated, authoritative statistics are published at the level of Ward 8, the larger political division that includes Anacostia along with Congress Heights, Washington Highlands, Barry Farm, and (since 2022) Navy Yard. Figures below are labeled with the geography they actually cover.1

Ward 8 (includes Anacostia)

  • Ward 8 has a population of about 87,724.2
  • It is approximately 85% Black and 9% White under the 2022 ward boundaries.3 Under the pre-2022 boundaries the ward was about 90.5% Black; adding the majority-white Navy Yard area lowered the measured share.4
  • The median household income in Ward 8 is about $52,769.5
  • About 30.6% of Ward 8 residents live below the poverty line.6
  • The median age is 32.7 years, younger than the District overall.7
  • Roughly 86% of adults have a high school diploma and about 28% hold a bachelor's degree or higher.8
  • Renters occupy about 81% of the ward's housing — a homeownership rate near 19%.9

The Anacostia neighborhood

  • Within the Anacostia neighborhood itself, the population is overwhelmingly Black — about 96.8%, with roughly 2.4% White (a 2016-era Census estimate).10

For current, detailed data, see the sources on the resources page.

  1. Geography note: Anacostia neighborhood ≈ ZIP 20020; Ward 8 is much larger (~88,000 people) and "east of the river" means Wards 7 and 8 combined. DC Office of Planning — Census and Demographic Data, Ward 8. https://planning.dc.gov/page/census-and-demographic-data-ward-8 ↩

  2. Census Reporter — Ward 8, DC (U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year). http://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11008-ward-8-dc/ ↩

  3. Urban Institute, analysis of the 2020 Census. https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/dcs-population-growth-has-affected-racial-and-ethnic-composition-wards-6-7-and-8 ↩

  4. Urban Institute, analysis of the 2020 Census. https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/dcs-population-growth-has-affected-racial-and-ethnic-composition-wards-6-7-and-8 ↩

  5. Census Reporter — Ward 8, DC (ACS 5-year). http://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11008-ward-8-dc/ ↩

  6. Census Reporter — Ward 8, DC (ACS 5-year). http://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11008-ward-8-dc/ ↩

  7. Census Reporter — Ward 8, DC (ACS 5-year). http://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11008-ward-8-dc/ ↩

  8. Census Reporter — Ward 8, DC (ACS 5-year). http://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11008-ward-8-dc/ ↩

  9. D.C. Policy Center, "Appraising the District's Rentals." https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/appraising-the-districts-rentals-chapter-ii/ ↩

  10. Statistical Atlas (based on U.S. Census ACS, ~2016). https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/District-of-Columbia/Washington/Anacostia/Race-and-Ethnicity ↩