Cities › DC
Washington
Mayor Muriel Bowser · Democratic · in office since Jan. 2, 2015
The Executive Summary
Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has led Washington since Jan. 2015; on economic outcomes — the only thing this site scores for mayors — Washington ranks No. 13 of 21 big cities. On Bowser's watch, median household income rose $98,686 → $109,707 across 2016–2024; unemployment rose 6.2% → 6.3% across 2016–2025. Crime, housing and schools are not in this score, and outcomes are shared with the council and the economy — association, not causation.
| Unemployment 6.3% (2025) | −0.78σ · -1.34%/yr vs peers -0.49%/yr · 2016–2025 (10 pts) |
| Median household income $109,707 (2024 · constant 2024 $) | +0.77σ · +0.91%/yr vs peers +1.09%/yr · 2016–2024 (8 pts) |
| Poverty rate 17.3% (2024) | −0.34σ · -1.64%/yr vs peers -1.85%/yr · 2016–2024 (8 pts) |
| Government form | Strong mayor |
Washington is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to Muriel Bowser. The score is Washington's economic trend during their tenure, measured against the other 49 largest cities over the same years.
Sources: unemployment — BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · median household income — Census ACS 1-year, CPI-U deflated · poverty rate — Census ACS 1-year (B17001). Unemployment runs through 2025; income and poverty through 2024. The 2025 unemployment point is an eleven-month average — October 2025 was never collected during the federal shutdown — and it is included and flagged here under the same rule the state pages apply to the same statistic (one statistic, one rulebook, as of v2.6; through v2.5 city pages excluded it instead, and the changelog says so).
Scored on economic outcomes only — unemployment, real median income and poverty. Crime, housing and health are not yet included, so this is a narrower measure than a governor’s. Two denominators. The rank is out of 21 — the mayors with enough scored years to rank. 21 of 50 cities are scored, 0 of those are early reads left unranked, and 29 mayors are not yet scorable. Each σ is measured against all 49 other cities. No 2020 point exists for income or poverty — the Census Bureau never released standard ACS 1-year estimates for 2020, and the gap is not interpolated. That is why a window spanning 2020 carries one point fewer than its span. Government form follows standard reference classifications and was not verified city by city. Methodology
The Rundown
No. 13 of 21 big-city mayors — on economics, and only economics.
Median household income. Among the best of the 50 largest cities. $98,686 → $109,707 across 2016–2024.
Poverty rate. Worse than the typical big city. 18.6% → 17.3% across 2016–2024.
Unemployment. One of the worst of the 50 largest cities. 6.2% → 6.3% across 2016–2025.
How this is scored: 60% is where Washington stands against the other 49 largest cities, 40% is which way it moved on Mayor Bowser's watch — the same rule governors get. It covers 3 economic outcomes only: crime, housing and schools are not in this grade, so it is narrower than a governor's. Washington is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to the mayor.
Public safety, monthly — the city’s own record
Hate/bias-crime incidents reported by the Metropolitan Police Department Bias Crime via Open Data DC, counted by the city’s own published bias motives and compared same months only — January–June of each year, because the record currently runs through June 2026. Counts are small and reporting-sensitive; they are shown in both directions, never scored, and never part of Bowser’s grade or any other. This module exists for every city whose government publishes a qualifying official feed — no feed, no module, no inferred number.
| Bias motive | Jan–Jun 2023 | Jan–Jun 2024 | Jan–Jun 2025 | Jan–Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All bias motives | 71 | 73 | 78 | 43 |
| Sexual Orientation | 23 | 13 | 19 | 17 |
| Black | 9 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
| Jewish | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Gender Identity/Expression | 6 | 15 | 10 | 3 |
| White | 4 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| All other motives | 22 | 20 | 27 | 8 |
Source: Metropolitan Police Department Bias Crime via Open Data DC, data through June 2026. An incident count is a report to the police, not a conviction, and a change in counts can reflect reporting as well as incidence — the city’s own caveats apply.
Washington sits in no state — it is the federal district — so there is no governor and no state page where other cities have one. The mayor and the D.C. Council carry several functions a state’s governor and legislature would carry elsewhere, and Congress, where the district has no voting member, retains final authority over the district’s laws and budget.