Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.—formally the District of Columbia, often called just Washington—serves as the United States’ federal capital and is the country’s only federal district. It sits on the northeastern bank of the Potomac River, facing Virginia, and is bordered on its other sides by Maryland. The district’s name comes from Columbia, a female symbol representing the American nation, while “Washington” was added later in honor of George Washington, the first U.S. president.

The U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress, which would become a constituent part of the Union that is not part of any state or territory. The Residence Act, passed on July 16, 1790, authorized the capital district along the Potomac River, marking the city’s founding. In 1800, the capital moved from Philadelphia; the 6th Congress began meeting in the still-unfinished Capitol Building, and President John Adams moved into the newly completed White House.

The District of Columbia was formally established in 1801, carved from parts of Maryland and Virginia and including the existing towns of Georgetown and Alexandria. At first, the city of Washington was a separate settlement within the larger district. In 1846, Congress reduced the district’s size by returning the land Virginia had ceded, including Alexandria. In 1871, the entire district was consolidated into a single municipality.

Since the 1880s, there have been multiple unsuccessful attempts to shrink the district further and admit the rest as a state; a statehood bill passed the House in 2021 but was not taken up by the Senate. Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the city in 1791, dividing it into quadrants that converge at the Capitol Building, with 131 neighborhoods total. According to the 2020 census, the city’s population was 689,545. On weekdays, commuters from Maryland and Virginia suburbs push the daytime population above one million.

The Washington metropolitan area—covering parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—is the nation’s seventh-largest metro area, with 6.3 million residents in 2023. Since 1973, a locally elected mayor and a 13-member council have governed the district, though Congress can still overturn local laws. D.C. residents lack voting representation in Congress but elect a non-voting delegate to the House.