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Greater Washington is...

A Growing Metropolitan Region

  • 4 th largest U.S metro population (more than 6 million)
  • Population expected to grow 8.5% by 2010
  • Total of 6,000 square miles (15,500 kilometers) encompassing the District of Columbia , Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland

    • A Vibrant Economic Center

  • 72,000 new jobs added in 2005
  • Led the U.S. in job growth over past 5 years – 270,000 jobs added from 2000 to 2005
  • Gross regional product of $342 billion – 4 th largest in the nation
  • Largest number of Inc. 500 companies for nine consecutive years (50 firms in 2005)
  • Median household income of $72,799, the nation’s wealthiest region
  • 54 local companies had a market capitalization of over $1 billion in 2005

    • Home of the U.S. Government

  • Federal government purchases in the region reached $52.6 billion in 2004 – an increase of 19% over previous year
  • Federal government is the largest single technology consumer in the world
  • Federal employment represents only 10.6% of the region’s workforce

    • Innovative, Diverse and Entrepreneurial

  • Greater Washington’s Hispanic and African American communities are starting new companies 3 times faster than the national average
  • Third-highest number of large, Hispanic-owned businesses (25) on the 2005 Hispanic Business 500
  • 25 area companies are listed on DiversityBusiness.com’s Top 500 women-owned businesses

    • A Strong Biotech Center

  • Third-largest number of bioscience companies in the world and a leader in human genome research
  • Home of the National Institutes of Health, U.S Food and Drugs Administration, and National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Region’s bioscience workforce has grown to 19,000 public-sector and 14,000 private-sector employees
  • New facilities include $425 million Eli Lilly manufacturing facility and $500 million Howard Hughes Medical Institutes research center

    • International

  • 700 internationally owned companies
  • Named “best global city for real estate investment”
  • 20% of Greater Washington’s residents speak a language other than English at home
    •

    An Educational Leader

  • More than 50 colleges & universities – approximately 328,000 full-time higher education students annually
  • Greater Washington leads U.S. in number of k-12 students in “gold rated” schools
  • Newsweek magazine’s list of “top 100 public high schools in the U.S.” includes 13 schools in the region
    •

    Highly Educated Residents

  • 42% of the population (older than 25 years old) has a bachelor’s degree or higher
  • 19% of the region’s adults have advanced degrees – the highest percentage in the U.S.
  • One in ten employees, twice the national average, work in the technology field; the region leads the nation in the number of math and computer science employees (194,980)

    • Well-Connected

  • Three airports serve the region with more than 1,085 daily non-stop flights to 95 domestic locations
  • Direct flights to 34 international destinations
  • Region’s modern METRO system is the nation’s second-most utilized subway

    • A Great Place to Live

  • 85 professional theatre companies and more free attractions than any other U.S metro area
  • 234,000 acres of parkland and 800 miles (1,290 kilometers) of bikeways
  • 170 golf courses, and more than 750 gyms, health clubs and spas
  • Seven major professional teams, and hundreds of nationally recognized college sports teams
  • Ranked by Forbes magazine as “second best U.S. city for singles”

    • About the Greater Washington Initiative (GWI)

    GWI helps companies make informed decisions about locating or expanding their business into the Greater Washington region. GWI’s complimentary services can help companies:

  • UNDERSTAND: Stats and trends about Greater Washington’s key industry clusters.
  • COMPARE: Regional data, compared to other U.S. regions, to determine if Greater Washington is right for your company.
  • LOCATE: Real estate and economic development information to determine the most strategic site within the region.
  • INTEGRATE: Contacts and resources – from legal and accounting to venture capital and staffing, required for success.

    • For more information, visit www.greaterwashington.org or call 202.857.5999.

     

    GWI Services

    Contact GWI

    Greater Washington Initiative
    (202) 857-5999