Metropolitan Growth

As an introduction to forecast conditions and the plan's performance, information on how the region is expected to develop is helpful because metropolitan growth greatly impacts the transportation challenges this region is facing. The region (defined as the Washington DC-MD-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area) is forecast to grow by nearly 1.9 million people and more than 1.3 million jobs between 2002 and 2030—a 40 percent increase in population and a 45 percent increase in employment. These estimates are from the results of Round 7A of the Cooperative Land Use Forecast.

 

The chart below shows that the regional core will grow at a slower rate than the outer suburbs, which will see dramatic increases in population and employment. Despite the dramatic growth in the outer suburbs, the inner parts of the region (the regional core and inner suburbs) are still expected to have the highest concentrations of jobs and people in 2030. However, while most of the employment is in the regional core and inner suburbs, most of the population is located in inner and outer suburbs.

Change in Population and Employment in the Regional Core, Inner Suburbs, and Outer Suburbs 2002 - 2030

Regional Core: District of Columbia; Arlington County and the City of Alexandria in Virginia.

Inner Suburbs: Montgomery and Prince George 's counties in Maryland; Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax and the City of Falls Church in Virginia.

Outer Suburbs: Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford counties, and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park in Virginia; Frederick, Calvert and Charles counties in Maryland.