At a real estate event, someone asked a question that stopped the room: “Building more housing is great, but without a strong job base, what gives people a reason to stay?”
It named what many are thinking: DC is going through an identity shift. Over the past year, federal downsizing and contract uncertainty reshaped the region’s job market. DC’s unemployment hit 6.7% in December 2025, up from 5.6% the year before. For a city whose heartbeat is tied to the government, that’s not a blip. That’s a warning sign.
And yet, we’re still operating like it’s 2015.
According to RCKRBX data, the misalignment is stark: studios and one-bedrooms make up 70% of DC’s multifamily supply but only 30% of demand. Two- and three-bedrooms? They’re 75% of demand but 30% of supply. We have oversupply of the wrong thing.
Families who love DC can’t find housing that fits. Young professionals come to our universities and leave for stronger job markets. We’re good at attracting talent. Less strategic about keeping it. And that’s part of the identity crisis.
For decades, we ran on “Feds, Meds, and Eds”: government, healthcare, and universities. It worked. But what once meant stability now limits our imagination.
What if DC became a diversified, innovation-driven capital? Known for entrepreneurship, tech, hospitality, and culture. A place that creates lasting jobs that attracts and retains talent.
Cities that don’t evolve fall behind. The nation’s capital can’t afford that. We’re one of the most educated cities in the country. We’re walkable, Metro-connected, and globally recognized. We have universities, research labs, entertainment, and talent most cities would kill for.
But doing business here? DC ranks 48th in business tax competitiveness. Our permitting exhausts and deters entrepreneurs. For a city that talks innovation, we don’t act like it. Pittsburgh leaned into robotics, Austin into tech, Atlanta into film. They made deliberate choices and coordinated across sectors.
DC’s version of that deliberate choice starts with two things. First, a “Family Stay” tax credit incentivizing developers to build the 2- and 3-bedroom units families actually need, in the transit corridors where people want to live. Second, consolidate permitting, licensing, taxes, and certifications into a single digital portal with a 30-day decision guarantee. Right now, entrepreneurs navigate multiple agencies just to get started, and something as basic as getting on the supply schedule can take over four months due to bureaucratic inefficiencies. San Diego did exactly this, combining permitting, zoning, and licensing into one portal and cutting what used to take hours of discovery time down to minutes. We can too.
This is where urgency comes in. On June 16, DC voters will elect a new mayor for the first time in 12 years, and multiple council seats will see new representation. This is a quintessential moment. We’re building a new leadership foundation. The Democratic primary features candidates with competing visions for DC’s future, ranked-choice voting for the first time, and a city watching closely. Whichever leader emerges will shape how we answer the core questions: What industries do we want to attract? What housing supports families staying? How do we make it easier to start and grow businesses here? What’s our story?
Cities compete on narrative as much as tax policy. DC has reinvented itself before. But past success doesn’t guarantee future momentum. The question is whether we shape this change together—and we’re about to decide who leads that work.
If we want a capital city that’s economically resilient, welcoming to families, alive with innovation, and globally competitive, the work starts now. Washington, DC is still one of the greatest cities in the world. What comes next is up to us.
For more information on housing data, contact RCKRBX.
