Columbia Heights by the Numbers
Tracking the conditions shaping life in Census Tract 28.02
Columbia Heights is often described through broad narratives: a busy commercial corridor, a transit hub, a neighborhood transformed by development. Those descriptions capture part of the picture, but they do not always reflect what residents are experiencing day to day.
This page tracks local economic and community conditions in Census Tract 28.02: poverty, unemployment, employment sectors, and neighborhood business activity. The goal is not to reduce our community to numbers. It is to ensure that the people most affected by economic change are not obscured by citywide averages or by assumptions about what is happening here.
The Findings
What the Data Shows
Poverty and Economic Instability
Poverty in Census Tract 28.02 has increased, but the burden is not shared evenly. The data shows especially sharp hardship among Black and Hispanic or Latino residents, women, and families with children. A neighborhood can look prosperous from the outside while many of the people who live here carry greater economic insecurity.
Unemployment Disparities
Unemployment has risen across the tract, but the increase is far more severe for some residents than others.
These gaps make clear that visible investment and neighborhood growth have not translated into equal access to stable work.
Employment Sectors
The employment-sector data reflects the industries in which Tract 28.02 residents work, not the number of jobs located in the neighborhood. It shows major changes in the sectors many residents rely on, including retail, hospitality and food service, construction, and other service-based work. Those shifts help explain why changes in the local economy can have direct consequences for household stability, even when the commercial corridor appears active.
Neighborhood Business Conditions
Local business-license trends point to a decline in new commercial-facing activity, particularly in the kinds of small businesses and neighborhood-serving uses that help make Columbia Heights accessible, culturally vibrant, and economically inclusive. This is not simply a question of vacant storefronts; it is about whether residents, vendors, and locally rooted entrepreneurs have viable pathways to participate in the neighborhood's economy.
Reading the Numbers
Why This Matters
Taken together, these indicators challenge the idea that Columbia Heights can be understood through a single story of investment or growth. The data show a more complex reality: a high-visibility neighborhood where economic pressure is increasing for many residents, even as the corridor remains commercially recognizable and hides the underlying challenges our residents face every day.
The purpose of tracking these conditions is not to reduce our community to numbers. It is to make sure policy is grounded in who is experiencing hardship, what is changing, and where public and private investment can make a meaningful difference.
How This Was Compiled
Sources & Methodology
Most indicators on this page use U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey five-year estimates for Census Tract 28.02, accessed through Social Explorer. Where possible, trends are shown across 2015, 2019, and 2024 estimates to provide context over time.
Tract-level survey estimates can vary, especially for smaller demographic groups. These figures should be read alongside resident experience, community knowledge, and other local indicators.