Washington DC Metro Area - Where "Smart" People Live!

Recent census data confirmed what many DC region residents have surmised: people in this area are highly educated. In fact, of the urban areas in the United States, the DC metro boasts the highest rate of adults that hold bachelor's degrees - 47%. Additionally out of the top 10 best-educated counties in the United States, 6 are located within commuting distance of Washington, DC. That is a high concentration of intelligence.

What does that mean in terms of real estate value - jobs! And not just any jobs - but those positions and professions that pay at the highest level usually belong to the educated. Employers who require an educated work force can recruit from a larger talent pool and not have to relocate candidates in order to obtain good quality employees. And people typically want to live in areas with like-minded folks, thus perpetuating the phenomena.

The DC area and suburbs offer a plethora of museums and cultural venues, tourist attractions, recreational facilities, top notch public and private educational institutions, public transportation, access to three airports, and just a short drive to either the mountains or the ocean. Businesses, non-profits, associations, international enterprises are all attracted to markets that provide a high quality of life for their employees.

Inside the Capital Beltway the majority of the degrees are in the soft sciences, such as psychology and the social sciences. It shouldn't surprise anyone that in the District there is a high concentration of lawyers, lobbyists and political scientists - all of which fall into the category of the soft sciences. When preparing a contract I sometimes facetiously make the comment that inside the beltway we have the largest percentage of lawyers per capita, that's why the Regional Sales Contract has more forms per capita. The World Bank and Bureau of Labor Statistics employ a significant number of economists - which also falls under the soft science category of education. Arlington and Alexandria County residents have similar educational profiles as the District, due to being just across the Potomac River from the city.

The greatest concentration of people with an education in the hard sciences falls outside the Beltway. The hard sciences represent those fields such as mathematics, biology and engineering. Because the National Institutes of Health is located in Montgomery County in Maryland, many biotech firms have been attracted to locate close by. Technology firms and government contractors have significant concentrations in both Fairfax and Loudoun Counties.

In my real estate practice, the majority of my clients and customers are those that live in McLean and Great Falls both of which lie in Fairfax County, Virginia. In Fairfax County 34% of the residents have hard science degrees, 19% were business majors at their respective institution of higher learning and18% soft science degrees. That means then that Fairfax County boasts 71% of adult residents with degrees.

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