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butterbean · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2271

Maryland and the District are losing residents to other jurisdictions but making up for the loss by gaining immigrants, according to new census estimates released today. Virginia has followed a similar pattern, attracting vastly more newcomers from overseas than from within the United States and growing only marginally since 2000.

The influx of immigrants has saved the three jurisdictions from what might otherwise be a precipitous population decline.

Although the data released today are limited to the state level, several demographers said they also think the information provides further confirmation of the Washington area's steady transformation from a relatively inexpensive Southern area into a Northeastern metropolis whose rising housing costs are pricing Americans out of its downtown and close-in suburbs even as the region remains an immigrant gateway.

"I used to think of Washington, D.C., as a bridge between the Northeast and the South. But these numbers suggest it's becoming more like the Northeast," said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. "For most of D.C.'s history, it's been a white-black area. If these changes continue, it will become more of a global city. Over time, it will probably end up looking like Boston or New York."

continued:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/21/AR2006122101935.html