The Greater Washington Initiative (an affiliate of the Greater Washington Board of Trade) is currently running an advertisement in the newspapers that this morning caught my eye over breakfast.
The ad drives home the facts that in the Greater Washington D.C. area 47% of the workforce have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Greater Washington D.C., which includes the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia, has the highest number of advanced degree holders as well. Over 21% of the 25 and over population hold an advanced college degree. I did some research and found out that Seattle, Washington is number two with 19.3% advanced degrees, followed by San Francisco with 18.5%.
Bottom line is that people in metropolitan D.C. are smart and well-educated. More educated than any other major metro area in the country.
Relocating to Northern Virginia and the D.C. Area is a Smart Idea
There are many good reasons to move to the Northern Virginia and D.C. area. The climate is temperate, we have some of the world's greatest museums and artistic culture, the cost of living is less than some other major U.S. cities, and some of the Southern hospitality is still alive and well
One of the biggest reasons to consider an individual or corporate relocation to the D.C. and Northern Virginia area is the job market and the talent pool of educated employees.
D.C. used to be a government town. It still is as the Federal Government is the area’s biggest single employer. But today, the Greater Washington private sector boasts 80% of the region’s jobs.
If you are an employer looking to hire top notch talent, opening an office in the D.C. area may be a wise choice. The D.C. area is home to over 50 colleges and universities with over 400,000 enrolled students. According to the Greater Washington Initiative, Greater Washington ranks first among major metropolitan areas for attracting and retaining recent university graduates – performing 60% better than the national average.
People with a high education level desire to be around others with that same level of knowledge and smarts. There are even clubs for this (like Mensa International). Job seekers should know that the unemployment level in the Washington area is around 3%. Not only are there lots of jobs here, but the jobs are high-paying “knowledge worker” jobs in industries like information technology, healthcare, bioscience, communications, defense technology contractors, and government agencies.
Virginia, Suburban Maryland, and D.C. have some excellent universities
If you or someone in your family is considering getting a higher education, there are many excellent universities and colleges throughout the Washington D.C. region including among others:
District of Columbia:
Catholic University of America
Northern Virginia:
Northern Virginia Community College
Suburban Maryland:
The Greater Washington Initiative has just issued a 2007 Regional Report with a lot of fascinating information that is extremely valuable to anyone or any business considering a relocation to the D.C. metropolitan area. You can download this report on their website, or e-mail me and I’ll send you a free copy.
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