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SegmentStatSource, YearLinkNotes
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Economy & Workforce#2 locale for America’s fastest-growing private companiesInc.com, 2015http://www.inc.com/diana-ransom/2015-inc5000-companies-by-metro.html"Yet the nation’s capital is in quick pursuit [of NYC]. With 279 [fast-growth] companies in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, which includes the wealthy suburbs of Northern Virginia and Maryland, it may only be a matter of time until DC topples its neighbor to the north."
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Economy & Workforce#1 Metro area for economic strength based on earnings, jobs, wages, real estate, construction, retail, welfare, and Medicaid dataPolicom, 2015http://www.policom.com/metrorank.htm[Fell to #9 in 2016 after being in the top 3 for at least 9 years]
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Economy & Workforce#1 most educated city in AmericaCensus PEP, 2015https://wallethub.com/edu/most-and-least-educated-cities/6656/
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Economy & Workforce#2 most educated city in AmericaWalletHub, 2016https://wallethub.com/edu/most-and-least-educated-cities/6656/#main-findings#5 highest percentage of associate's degree holders or college-experienced adults
#2 highest % of bachelors degree holders
#2 highest % of graduate or professional degree holders
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Economy & Workforce53.4% of DC residents over 25 years old have a bachelor’s degree or higher.Census PEP, 2015http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf
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Economy & Workforce#2 fastest growing “state” in the country. DC has more residents than Vermont and Wyoming.Census PEP, 2015http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-215.html
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Economy & WorkforceTop 10 best "state" where small business employees can earn the most [Ranking: #8]Forbes, 2015https://www.forbes.com/pictures/eklm45eeghk/no-8-washington-d-c/#1b5d07c441da
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Economy & Workforce#2 "State" EconomyBusiness Insider, 2015http://www.businessinsider.com/state-economy-ranking-q4-2015-2016-1/Ranked the economies of all the states and DC on seven measures: unemployment rates; GDP per capita; average weekly wages; recent growth rates for nonfarm payroll jobs; GDP; house prices; and wages.
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Economy & WorkforceTop 10 City for Venture Capital Investment ($835 million) [Ranking: #8]The Atlantic, 2016http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/global-startup-cities-venture-capital/429255/
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Economy & WorkforceTop 10 City for Venture Capital Investment ($1.2 billion) [Ranking: #6]CityLab, 2016http://www.citylab.com/tech/2016/02/the-spiky-geography-of-venture-capital-in-the-us/470208/
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Economy & WorkforceThe job market is strengthening with an unemployment rate of 6.4% as of April 2016, down from 7.4% in November 2014Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.dc.htm
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Livability#1 Restaurant City of the Yearbon appétit, 2016http://www.bonappetit.com/story/washington-dc-restaurant-city-of-the-year
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Livability#1 city for music loversCondéNast Traveler, 2015http://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2015-02-07/america-top-cities-for-music-lovers-nyc-los-angeles-seattle
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Livability#1 fittest city in AmericaACSM American
Fitness Index, 2014, 2015, 2016		http://www.americanfitnessindex.org/report/
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LivabilityTop 10 most bike-friendly, transit-friendly, and walkable cities in AmericaWalk Score, 2016https://www.walkscore.com/DC/Washington_D.C."Washington D.C. is the 7th most walkable large city in the US"
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Livability#3 Best City for Recent GraduatesNerdwallet, 2016https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/best-cities-for-recent-grads-2016/(unfortunately, Arlington is #1)
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Livability#3 Best U.S. City ParksTrust for the Public Land, 2016, 2015https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-ranked-3rd-in-best-us-city-parks-arlington-comes-in-4th-report-says/2016/05/25/052a952a-22a2-11e6-9e7f-57890b612299_story.html?postshare=821464278561001&tid=ss_tw
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Livability#1 Coolest CityForbes, 2014http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/08/06/washington-d-c-tops-our-list-of-americas-coolest-cities/#eb7ed037da6a
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LivabilityNo. 1 public transit system in the nationSmartAsset, 2016https://smartasset.com/mortgage/best-cities-for-public-transportationSecond largest heavy rail network in the United States, and sixth largest bus network, with over 353 million trips taken on DC public transportation each year (WMATA, 2016)
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Livability (& Real Estate?)D.C. Ranks Second For Homebuyers 35 And Underlendingtree.com, 2017https://www.lendingtree.com/press-release/where-are-nations-young-homebuyers?flush_cache=true&ccontent=TnL5HPStwNw&s1=TnL5HPStwNw&s2=TnL5HPStwNw-DBQJD3N6EFKWSg5io.8kWw&PUBSID=2116208&PUBNAME=Skimlinks.comLendingTree analyzed mortgage requests and offers for borrowers aged 35 years and under between August 1, 2016 and February 1, 2017, along with requests from the total population of mortgage-seekers based on the location of the property to be mortgaged. The city rankings are generated from the percentage of total purchase mortgage requests received by LendingTree from borrowers in the millennial generation.
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Livability (& Real Estate?)D.C. has seen the country’s largest increase of black homeowners over the past two decades, according to a new report from Trulia.Trulia, 2017https://www.trulia.com/blog/trends/fair-housing-legacy/D.C. was one of only 3 cities places that saw gains in homeownership for both African Americans and Latinos from 1990-2015. Between 1990 and 2015, there was a 9.6 percent increase of African American homeowners—the largest increase for blacks in the report. And D.C. saw a 10 percent increase of Latino homeowners, which ranks it fifth nationally among these households.
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Real EstateDC sets a national and global example of how to achieve sustainable development by creating policy and achieving a record number of LEED and Energy Star certified projects.U.S. Green Building Council, Energy Star, 2016http://www.usgbc.org/articles/us-green-building-council-releases-annual-top-10-states-for-leed-green-building
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Real EstateDC's flexible office market has grown by over 50% since 2015, with over 70 locations offering shared workspaces, co-working, flexible and short-term office rentals, and business incubation in September 2016WDCEP, 2016http://wdcep.com/wdcep-releases-dc-development-report-20162017-edition/
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Real Estate#1 in LEED-certified space per resident, with over 11 million square feet of certified space and 84 projects in 2015U.S. Green Building Councilhttp://www.usgbc.org/articles/us-green-building-council-releases-annual-top-10-states-for-leed-green-building
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Innovation#1 metro area for entrepreneurship based on startup formation, high-growth companies and the number of startups that reach scale in 10 yearsKauffman Foundation, 2015, 2016http://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/microsites/kauffman_index/growth/kauffman_index_growth_entrepreneurship_metro_report_6_2016.pdf
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Innovation#1 in the country for growth entrepreneurshipKauffman Foundation, 2016http://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/microsites/kauffman_index/growth/kauffman_index_growth_entrepreneurship_metro_report_6_2016.pdf
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Innovation#3 best city in America to start a business, based on over 20 categories including tax and regulatory climate, workforce strength, access to capital, and the cost of livingCNBC, 2016http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/11/the-top-20-metro-areas-to-start-a-business-in-america.html
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InnovationTop 5 city in the nation for startup success, based on DC’s technology sector, venture funding, higher ed enrollment, livability, and economyStreetwise Innovation Index, 2016innoindex.streetwise.co/
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Inclusion#1 best city for women in techSmartAsset, 2015, 2016https://smartasset.com/career/best-cities-women-tech

https://smartasset.com/mortgage/best-cities-for-women-in-tech-2016		"The nation’s capital is the best city for women in tech, and by a fairly large margin. Women in Washington make up over 37% of the tech workforce, higher than in any other city we examined. This is probably due in part to the hiring policies of the federal government, most likely the largest tech employer in the city." (https://smartasset.com/career/best-cities-women-tech)
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Inclusion#1 highest proportion of women in the tech workforceInnovation Destination, 2015, 2016
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Inclusion#1 for women's employment and earningsInstitute for Women’s Policy Research, 2016http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination
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InclusionTop 5 city for diversity in STEMSmartAsset, 2015Fell to #9 in 2016 - https://smartasset.com/mortgage/the-best-cities-for-diversity-in-stem-2016-edition. Have highest proportion of Black
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InclusionTop 5 best city for black-owned businesses [Ranked number 4]Nerdwallet, 2015https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/small-business/best-places-for-black-owned-businesses/Listed as "Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Virginia, metro area

"The nation’s capital has a growing technology industry, an educated population and a dynamic mix of public and private sectors. Entrepreneurs looking to get off the ground can take advantage of resources at the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce and BizLaunch, an Arlington Economic Development entrepreneurship program."
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InclusionDC has the lowest gender pay gap in AmericaAmerican
Association of University
Women, 2016		http://www.aauw.org/resource/gender-pay-gap-by-state-and-congressional-district/
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FashionGQ released a list of the 100 Best Men's Stores in America, and Maketto made the cut.GQ, 2015http://www.gq.com/story/best-denim-casual-stores-in-america-gq-100
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InvestmentDC is in the top 10 metros with the highest levels of venture-capital investment worldwide [Ranked #8]Martin Prosperity Institute, Rise of the Global Startup City, 2016https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/global-startup-cities-venture-capital/429255/$835million Venture Capital Investment
2% of Global Venture Capital Investment
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InvestmentTop 10 Metro for Venture-Capital Investment Per Capita (worldwide) (#8)Martin Prosperity Institute, Rise of the Global Startup City, 2017https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/global-startup-cities-venture-capital/429255/$138 Venture Capital Investment per Capita
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