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REVIVE: Exploring What's Making Greater Washington Vibrant

A partnership with the Washington Business Journal

Want to Keep Up With the Pace of the Region?

REVIVE, our proprietary index of Greater Washington activity, supports regional leaders in navigating these complex and challenging times.

The index empowers businesses to monitor and forecast the scale of change in the region as the way we live, work and play changes over time. We have partnered with the Washington Business Journal to publish the results of the REVIVE index helping Greater Washington plan for a dynamic and resilient future.

Unusually Frigid January Tempers the Greater Washington REVIVE Index, Even as Capital Markets Momentum Boosts the Region’s Vibrancy

The Greater Washington REVIVE Index fell 2.1% in January, as the region’s coldest month turned even more frigid than usual, dampening activity and overall vibrancy. Despite the weather‑related slowdown, the region continued to benefit from an increasingly favorable capital markets environment that helped counterbalance winter’s drag.

January’s unusually cold and snowy conditions weakened several indicators that typically reflect Greater Washington’s economic and social dynamism. Resident and visitor mobility, measured through anonymized cell‑phone data, declined, while Metro ridership and hotel occupancy experienced steeper‑than‑normal seasonal drops. Home sales fell more sharply than in a typical January, and commercial and multifamily property transactions slowed as well. Although many of these measures routinely soften during the winter, the magnitude of this year’s declines suggests that weather effects were particularly acute.

The federal government sector, a foundational pillar of the region’s economy, contributed substantially to the index’s downturn. The REVIVE Federal Government Composite Index plunged 53.5% year‑over‑year, marking the largest decline in its 18‑year history. Federal employment in the region contracted by 53,800 jobs in the year ending December 2025, a 14.2% annual decline that represents the steepest drop in decades and far surpasses the previous record of -4.6% in 1994. Federal contracting also weakened sharply: In January, the value of federal contracts awarded in the region fell 16.9% year‑over‑year, the most significant decline in the 18‑year data series.

Yet amid these headwinds, the broader capital markets environment provided a meaningful source of underlying strength. The Greater Washington REVIVE Investor Sentiment Composite rose 4.7%, supported by rising stock prices among regional banks and major local Fortune 500 companies. Stabilizing and modestly lower short‑term interest rates helped boost equity valuations while creating more favorable conditions for real estate investment. Reinforcing this momentum, local venture capital investment jumped 28% year‑over‑year, signaling renewed risk appetite and improved financing conditions for high‑growth firms.

REVIVE Index Archive

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