Brightwood Today: People and Demographics

A snapshot of who lives in Brightwood today. A note on geography: Brightwood is one neighborhood within Ward 4 (ZIP 20011). The most reliable, current figures are published at the ward level; neighborhood-level estimates are older and less precise. Each figure below is labeled with the geography it covers.1

Ward 4 (includes Brightwood)

  • Ward 4 has a population of about 85,682.2
  • It is majority Black with a large Latino community: roughly 45% Black, 20% Hispanic/Latino, 26% White, and 2% Asian.3
  • The median household income is about $127,583, above the District-wide median.4
  • Homeownership is comparatively high — about 63% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.5
  • The median age is 39.5 years.6
  • About 20% of residents are foreign-born, reflecting the ward's large immigrant — notably Latino and East African — community.7

The Brightwood neighborhood

  • Brightwood itself is estimated at about 7,994 residents.8
  • Within Brightwood, Black and Latino residents together make up more than 90% of the population — roughly 65% Black and 26% Hispanic/Latino.9

For current, detailed data, see the sources on the resources page.

  1. DC Office of Planning — Census and Demographic Data, Ward 4. https://planning.dc.gov/page/census-and-demographic-data-ward-4 ↩

  2. Census Reporter — Ward 4, DC (ACS 2024 5-year). https://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11004-ward-4-dc/ ↩

  3. U.S. Census Bureau, Table B03002 (ACS 2024 5-year), Ward 4 DC, via Census Reporter. https://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11004-ward-4-dc/ ↩

  4. Census Reporter — Ward 4, DC (ACS 2024 5-year). https://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11004-ward-4-dc/ ↩

  5. U.S. Census Bureau, Table B25003 (ACS 2024 5-year), Ward 4 DC, via Census Reporter. https://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11004-ward-4-dc/ ↩

  6. Census Reporter — Ward 4, DC (ACS 2024 5-year). https://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11004-ward-4-dc/ ↩

  7. Census Reporter — Ward 4, DC (ACS 2024 5-year). https://censusreporter.org/profiles/61000US11004-ward-4-dc/ ↩

  8. Statistical Atlas — Brightwood neighborhood (Census/ACS, 2010s). https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/District-of-Columbia/Washington/Brightwood/Overview ↩

  9. Statistical Atlas — Race and Ethnicity in Brightwood (Census/ACS, 2010s). https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/District-of-Columbia/Washington/Brightwood/Race-and-Ethnicity ↩