Sunday’s Washington Post featured a big story about gentrification on 14th Street, including the claim that it “recently surpassed Columbia Heights as the densest area in the city.” Is that true? The US Census can tell us.

Using American FactFinder, I created this map illustrating the population density of DC’s central neighborhoods.

5 of DC’s 6 overall densest census tracts border on 14th Street, between downtown and the northern end of Columbia Heights. It’s definitely the city’s densest string of neighborhoods.

But is it denser north or south of Florida Avenue? That depends how you count. While the stretch of 14th Street between Florida Avenue and P Street remains a little sparser than in Columbia Heights, the stretch from P Street south to Thomas Circle is the densest single tract in DC.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.