Washington, D.C. has changed rapidly in 2025.
President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital, and to great effect. At the same time, the city continues to struggle economically and the administration’s effort to limit the size and scope of the federal government has had a major impact on the capital’s unemployment rate.
Crime Falls Dramatically
The latest statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department show a 15% overall drop in crime.
That drop is being fueled by fewer crimes against people and property. As of Nov. 20, homicides are down 28%, and total violent crimes is down by the same percentage. Property crime is down 13%, and robberies are down 35%.
One category of crime that has increased however, is sexual abuse offenses, which has increased by 37%.
This drop in crime comes as Trump continues to have members of the National Guard stationed in the city, a move that has been allowed by Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Harder to Find a Bite to Eat
Early on in the Trump administration, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) conducted a survey showing 44% of restaurants said they were either “somewhat” or “very likely” to close by the end of the year. The survey was conducted in January and February.
It has been a difficult year for restaurants. A July report from RAMW showed over 50 restaurant closings so far in 2025—a near doubling from the previous year. 73 restaurants were closed in D.C. in all of 2024.
The same July report RAMW additionally showed a 17% decrease in new restaurant openings in D.C. compared to the same time the previous year.
Federal Employment Is Dropping
The Trump administration has sought to right-size the federal government through restructuring government agencies and issuing reductions in force across the executive branch.
Unsurprisingly, in late October, the city’s office of revenue analysis reported federal workforce employment in the city is on the decline. Public sector jobs “are down 2.7% from last year,” the city reported using data through August 2025.
Overall employment, however, is down far less than the public sector statistics. The district’s Department of Employment Services reported unemployment in the “Metropolitan Division and the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area increased by 0.9 percentage points” over the year. This area includes the capital, as well as nearby cities and counties in its orbit.
A sign of hope for the DC economy, however, is that per capita income has risen since last year, a continuation of a multi-year trend.
