Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the <a href="/facts/Capital_city/p06rGdJC">capital city</a> and <a href="/facts/Federal_district_of_the_United_States/enXPK156">federal district</a> of the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>. The city is on the <a href="/facts/Potomac_River/a6pTbEn0">Potomac River</a>, across from <a href="/facts/Virginia/g2kucGdn">Virginia</a>, and shares land borders with <a href="/facts/Maryland/tVy9fC1n">Maryland</a> to its north and east. It was named after <a href="/facts/George_Washington/ucb7mE4Q">George Washington</a>, the first <a href="/facts/President_of_the_United_States/oMsfmLb1">president of the United States</a>. The district is named for <a href="/facts/Columbia_(personification)/e6uyMHcD">Columbia</a>, the female <a href="/facts/National_personification/DJp0w5lv">personification of the nation</a>.
The <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_the_United_States/AJlEWNR3">U.S. Constitution</a> in 1789 called for the creation of a <a href="/facts/Federal_district/PseJsVFr">federal district</a> under <a href="/facts/District_of_Columbia_home_rule/1aemaubF">exclusive jurisdiction</a> of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Congress/mJlU46K7">U.S. Congress</a>. As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">state</a>, and is not one itself. The <a href="/facts/Residence_Act/vRHdwyTk">Residence Act</a>, adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the <a href="/facts/Capital_districts_and_territories/NvwWSYTl">capital district</a> along the Potomac River. The city was founded in 1791, and the <a href="/facts/6th_United_States_Congress/qsnrYxYA">6th Congress</a> held the first session in the unfinished <a href="/facts/United_States_Capitol/UFAR0zx8">Capitol Building</a> in 1800 after the capital moved from <a href="/facts/Philadelphia/2bFFCCTU">Philadelphia</a>. In 1801, the District of Columbia, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia and including the existing settlements of <a href="/facts/Georgetown_(Washington,_D.C.)/HaTUJkwQ">Georgetown</a> and <a href="/facts/Alexandria,_Virginia/GLS42Yf4">Alexandria</a>, was officially recognized as the federal district; initially, the city was a separate settlement within the larger district. In 1846, Congress reduced the size of the district when it <a href="/facts/District_of_Columbia_retrocession/YqLzukI3">returned the land originally ceded by Virginia</a>, including the city of Alexandria. In 1871, it created a <a href="/facts/District_of_Columbia_Organic_Act_of_1871/csXAyMuE">single municipality</a> for the district. There have been several unsuccessful <a href="/facts/District_of_Columbia_statehood_movement/BL4JxuvQ">efforts to make the district into a state</a> since the 1880s; a <a href="/facts/Washington,_D.C.,_Admission_Act/MQGNymrn">statehood bill</a> passed the <a href="/facts/United_States_House_of_Representatives/cdBPb9pY">House of Representatives</a> in 2021 but was not adopted by the <a href="/facts/United_States_Senate/VyzXHE01">U.S. Senate</a>. To become law, it would have to be passed by the Senate and signed by the president; it would have renamed the city Washington, <a href="/facts/Frederick_Douglass/mxnR4v2t">Douglass</a> Commonwealth and shrunk the Federal District to about the size of the <a href="/facts/National_Mall/z8VAJyTN">National Mall</a>.
<a href="/facts/L%27Enfant_Plan/1EByAwC6">Designed in 1791</a> by <a href="/facts/Pierre_Charles_L%27Enfant/kDKNfDNS">Pierre Charles L'Enfant</a>, the city is divided into <a href="/facts/Quadrants_of_Washington,_D.C./SvmQWSAM">quadrants</a>, which are centered on the Capitol Building and include 131 <a href="/facts/Neighborhoods_in_Washington,_D.C./hbUMU8ML">neighborhoods</a>. As of the <a href="/facts/2020_United_States_census/dTEm5TRr">2020 census</a>, the city had a population of 689,545. Commuters from the city's Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek. The <a href="/facts/Washington_metropolitan_area/tn4yeESo">Washington metropolitan area</a>, which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, and <a href="/facts/West_Virginia/USP8LtCq">West Virginia</a>, is the country's <a href="/facts/Metropolitan_statistical_area/Y2yX0KJg">seventh-largest metropolitan area</a>, with a 2023 population of 6.3 million residents. <a href="/facts/Mayor_of_the_District_of_Columbia/xbYgVYRv">A locally elected mayor</a> and <a href="/facts/Council_of_the_District_of_Columbia/4AoV5e82">13-member council</a> have governed the district since 1973, though Congress retains the power to overturn local laws. Washington, D.C., residents do not have voting representation in Congress, but elect a single <a href="/facts/Non-voting_members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives/DzjVjFJ8">non-voting congressional delegate</a> to the U.S. House of Representatives. The city's voters choose three <a href="/facts/United_States_Electoral_College/Uyko6bfl">presidential electors</a> in accordance with the <a href="/facts/Twenty-third_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution/HxFJdoWJ">Twenty-third Amendment</a>, passed in 1961.
Washington, D.C., anchors the southern end of the <a href="/facts/Northeast_megalopolis/DEDATMjf">Northeast megalopolis</a>. As the seat of the <a href="/facts/Federal_government_of_the_United_States/VJCxUaf7">U.S. federal government</a>, the city is an important <a href="/facts/Caput_Mundi/wUDYULcY">world political capital</a>. The city hosts buildings that house federal government headquarters, including the <a href="/facts/White_House/CJQc7dKF">White House</a>, U.S. Capitol, <a href="/facts/United_States_Supreme_Court_Building/2mMVFy8K">Supreme Court Building</a>, and <a href="/facts/List_of_federal_agencies_in_the_United_States/j052fc07">multiple federal departments and agencies</a>. The city is home to many national <a href="/facts/List_of_museums_in_Washington,_D.C./CN8HLu1z">monuments and museums</a>, located most prominently on or around the <a href="/facts/National_Mall/z8VAJyTN">National Mall</a>, including the <a href="/facts/Jefferson_Memorial/PwrmglY1">Jefferson Memorial</a>, <a href="/facts/Lincoln_Memorial/luwwCTEc">Lincoln Memorial</a>, and <a href="/facts/Washington_Monument/3Ir2QT65">Washington Monument</a>. It hosts <a href="/facts/List_of_diplomatic_missions_in_Washington,_D.C./2jKtvrjU">177 foreign embassies</a> and the global headquarters of the <a href="/facts/World_Bank/hIH9uUb2">World Bank</a>, <a href="/facts/International_Monetary_Fund/tPSTWWS4">International Monetary Fund</a>, <a href="/facts/Organization_of_American_States/bxrtCRTI">Organization of American States</a>, and other international organizations. Home to many of the nation's largest industry associations, non-profit organizations, and <a href="/facts/Think_tank/xl9t8HmC">think tanks</a>, the city is known as a <a href="/facts/Lobbying_in_the_United_States/NgKqo1Ln">lobbying</a> hub, which is centered on and around <a href="/facts/K_Street_(Washington,_D.C.)/mHkSwcme">K Street</a>. It is also among the country's top tourist destinations; in 2022, it drew an estimated 20.7 million domestic and 1.2 million international visitors, seventh-most among U.S. cities.

Washington, D.C. open-in-new

Washington, D.C.