The GW Cancer Center is located in the heart of the nation's capital. Washington, D.C. is an urban metropolis of nearly 659,000 individuals, 49% of whom identify as black or African American. The Washington metro area has one of the highest costs of living in the country, yet 18.6% of residents in D.C. proper live below the federal poverty line and 32.7% live below 200% of the poverty line. As of September 2015, the unemployment rate was 6.7%, above the national average of 5.1%. Washington, D.C. was ranked 5th in the nation in terms of income inequality in 2013 with the 20th percentile annual income at $21,036 and the 95th percentile earning $302,265. Twenty seven percent of blacks or African Americans living in poverty compared to only 7.7% of whites.
A 2012 Gallup Poll found that Washington, D.C. had the highest percentage of individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) when compared to the 50 U.S. states, at 10% of the DIstrict's population. This percentage fluctuates depending on the data source and year, but is consistently more than double the national average per capita. Additional data from the U.S. Census found that compared to each of the 50 states in the U.S., D.C. had the largest number of same-sex couple households, increasing by 31% between 2000 and 2010.
While the GW Cancer Center receives patients from beyond thecity core, 45% of our patient population comes from within the District, our primary catchment area. Washington, D.C. is divided into eight wards with stark demographic differences (Figure 1). Wards 7 and 8, located in the southeastern part of the city, typically have higher rates of poverty, lower rates of education and much poorer health outcomes compared to wealthier parts of the city.