Washington area to add 1 million people in next 10 years

Washington area to add 1 million people in next 10 years

Thereês good news and bad news about projected population growth of 955,500 people in the Washington area in the next 10 years. Itês good news if youêre in the business of selling cars to consumers. The bad news is there wonêt be enough roads on which to drive all those cars.

The projection comes from the American City Business Journals, which forecasts 7.4 percent growth to 6.55 million people in the metro area by 2020 and 16 percent growth to 7.053 million people by 2025. George Mason University economist Stephen Fuller sees smaller growth, with 750,000 people added by 2025. Either way, everything will be more crowded.

The biggest problem is housing; There simply isnêt enough of it, especially at a price that young people can afford. Fuller told the Washington Business Journal that high housing prices will make it harder to attract a qualified workforce.

Fuller predicted that more people will work from home or work during off hours. Of course, that would not be possible for some jobs, such as car sales.