The Future of the Washington Metropolitan Area Economy
Alternative Growth Scenarios and Their Regional Implications
IPI USA released a series of research reports in April that examined the economic growth potentials for the Washington, DC metropolitan area to 2030 and the associated challenges that achieving these potentials. This research determined that the Washington metropolitan area is projected to experience substantial economic growth over the next two decades building on its base of national capital functions and its growing competitive position. This research found that:
- The value of goods and services that the Washington area economy can generate over the 2010-2030 period is projected to grow 94.2 percent adjusted for inflation;
- This economic growth is projected to generate a total of 1.58 million net new jobs in the metropolitan area; and,
- Forecasts for population and household growth for this same period project the Washington area’s population to increase by 1.67 million and its number of households to grow by 694,000.
However, this research found that the economic growth projected for the Washington metropolitan area over the next twenty years was not automatic and that its realization would depend on regional solutions to work force development and substantial increases in the production of new housing to house the households moving into the Washington region to fill these new jobs as well as to back fill the projected 2 million job vacancies resulting from retirements over the 2010-2030 period. These challenges of work force development and expanded housing and supporting infrastructure are quantified in this report.
Stephen Fuller's 2030 Group presentation at the National Press Club is available online.
