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Home Media Center*Press Releases*January 17, 2009 - Press Release

Obamas Select Diverse, Highly-Educated, and Resilient Location as New Hometown

Greater Washington - More Than Government

Washington, DC – On January 20, 2009, all eyes will be on Washington and President-elect Barack Obama as he is sworn in as the 44 th President of the United States. And everyone will be talking about how he seeks to transform our government. But government is not all we do here in Greater Washington. As media coverage on Washington, DC ramps up, here are a few things you may not know about President-elect Obama’s new hometown:

  • While certainly an important part of our region, Greater Washington is about much more than just government. Business gets done in a serious way here - we are the 4th largest regional economy in the U.S., with a Gross Regional Product of nearly $410 billion and a population of 6.2 million people.
  • Greater Washington’s economy is diverse – 23% of jobs are in professional & business services and the region is the 2nd largest employer of technology workers in the U.S.
  • President-elect Obama and his Cabinet are known for their smarts and educational attainment. They will feel right at home here in Greater Washington – we have the best educated workforce and the highest concentration of “knowledge workers” in the U.S. – 47% has a bachelor’s degree and 22% has an advanced degree.
  • In this time of change, you must have innovation and entrepreneurial spirit – we have a proven tack record in both. For the twelfth (12 th) consecutive year, Greater Washington boasts the largest number of Inc. 500 fastest-growing private companies in America, with 45 Inc. 500 companies in our region.
  • Bienvenido! Bienvenue! Huan Ying! Greater Washington is globally connected, with more than 500 weekly international nonstop flights from three airports (granted, President-elect Obama will have his own plane), foreign-born workers account for 20% of the workforce, more than 700 foreign-owned firms from 29 countries call Greater Washington home.
  • During tough economic times, President-elect Obama will be glad to know his new hometown is resilient. During the last recession, the Greater Washington region added 66,000 jobs and has had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. over the last seven years. Greater Washington has also experienced consistent GRP growth for the last 18 years.
  • There is no better place than Greater Washington to raise two daughters – our region has more female executives per capita than any major U.S. metropolitan region and the highest labor force participation rate among women.
  • # President-elect Obama has made clear his priority on education – we share his thinking. Greater Washington is #1 in number of Gold Rated K-12 schools and there are more than 50 colleges and universities located in the region.
  • Green business and innovation is a new multibillion-dollar segment of the economy – and we are at the center. Greater Washington has the largest “green collar workforce” in the U.S. and the most LEED registered and certified buildings of any major U.S. metro.
  • Busy workers and the high number of professional, scientific and management jobs help give Greater Washington’s households the highest median income in the U.S. ($83,200). Our new fitness-minded President will find himself in good company, as our region leads the nation in Good Health Status (90.5% of residents).

For more information about the Greater Washington region, download the Regional Report at www.greaterwashington.org.

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The Greater Washington Initiative (GWI) is the regional marketing and economic development organization that promotes the area encompassing the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland as a premier business location. GWI is an affiliate of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. For more info, visit www.greaterwashington.org.