When Amazon.com Inc. decided to place its second headquarters in Arlington, some Prince George’s County officials had an immediate reaction: Their locality could be “ground zero” for Amazon workers who couldn’t afford to live in Northern Virginia or D.C.
After all, as Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce President David Harrington explains, his county provided more affordable abodes, but without sacrificing indispensable Metro accessibility.
That combination explains a shift that’s silently played out in the region for years. D.C. proper may have successfully turned around a decadeslong decline in population, ultimately adding more than 130,000 residents in the last 20 years, rebuilding its waterfronts into booming neighborhoods and fueling an economy that stands worthy of envy — but it turns out, District residents aren’t necessarily there to stay. Thousands find their way out every year.
Most of the movement in and out of the District is within Greater Washington itself. Independent of the pandemic, D.C. has lost a steady stream of residents over the years to suburban Maryland, especially Prince George’s County, and many experts point to housing as the main driver.
