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County profile District of Columbia Metropolitan

Black health in District of Columbia County, District of Columbia

297,123

Black residents (ACS)

44.23%

Of county population

$52,400

Median household income, Black

3.80%

Uninsured, Black residents

The District of Columbia has roughly 297,000 Black residents (~44%), with the highest Black share concentrated east of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8. DC Health publishes ward-level health gradients annually; Ward 3 (majority-white, northwest DC) records a life expectancy roughly 15 years higher than Ward 8, one of the country's widest intra-city gaps. Howard University Hospital is the District's Black academic medical centre; MedStar Washington Hospital Center and George Washington University Hospital are the other two level-I trauma centres.

The closure of United Medical Center in southeast DC (2021) left Ward 8 without a full-service hospital; a Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, operated by Universal Health Services, is under construction on the United Medical Center campus and scheduled to open in 2026.

Headline outcomes

Race-stratified county-level figures pulled from CDC WONDER small-area estimates, the annual County Health Rankings, and the CDC NVSS state/county life tables. County values with cell counts below CDC suppression thresholds are marked as data pending.

Life expectancy (Black)

70.60 yrs

At birth, CDC NVSS Small-Area LE

Infant mortality (Black)

13.80

Per 1,000 live births, CDC WONDER

CVD mortality (Black)

350.60

Age-adjusted per 100k, CDC WONDER I00-I99

County Health Rankings

#1

Overall rank in District of Columbia (lower = better)

HPSA: Primary Care HPSA: Mental Health

Policy context in District of Columbia

District of Columbia has adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which gives low-income Black adults in this county a direct pathway to primary-care and prescription coverage. Medicaid in this state covers doula services. Postpartum Medicaid coverage extends for 12 months after delivery — the federal recommended standard, in place here.

Where to get help in District of Columbia

Find Black health providers & resources in District of Columbia

Black clinicians in District of Columbia

Directory filtered to this county & state

Federally Qualified Health Centers

Sliding-scale FQHCs across District of Columbia

Crisis & support resources

988, postpartum helplines, Black-serving crisis lines

District of Columbia state profile

Statewide context, Medicaid policy, all 10 health facets

References & primary sources

  1. Demographics: US Census ACS 5-year 2019–2023, Tables B03002 (race), B01003 (total population), S1903 (median income), B27010B (uninsured by race).
  2. Mortality and life expectancy: CDC WONDER county-level Multiple Cause of Death and Underlying Cause of Death, pooled 2020–2022; CDC NVSS Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates, 2016–2020 release.
  3. County Health Rankings: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2024 release.
  4. HRSA shortage-area designations: HRSA HPSA Find and MUA/P Find, current as of 2025.
  5. Rural-Urban Continuum Codes: USDA Economic Research Service, 2023 release.

Data refreshed:

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