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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.

Greater Washington’s Vibrancy Gains Momentum in July, Extending the 2025 Recovery

The Greater Washington REVIVE Index reached its highest level in nearly two years in July, extending a recovery from the declines experienced earlier in 2025. The index has increased in seven of the past eight months, highlighting broad-based improvement across several key sectors.

A notable and somewhat unexpected contributor to the region's recent momentum has been the federal government. The REVIVE Federal Government sub-index increased 2.9% from the previous month, marking its third gain in the past five months. This represents a meaningful shift following a prolonged period of weakness, during which the index declined in 11 of the preceding 12 months.

The turnaround is becoming increasingly visible in the data. Federal employment in Greater Washington expanded by approximately 1,400 jobs between May and July, the largest two-month gain since November 2024.

Federal contracting activity has also strengthened, with contract awards increasing 0.9% in July and continuing an upward trend that began in March. Growth in federal contracts in Greater Washington has been especially pronounced among innovation and R&D offices across various agencies, with contract awards rising 7.0% over the month and extending a positive trend that began last winter. This momentum helped drive the REVIVE Innovation sub-index up 5.3% from June, making it one of the strongest-performing components of the overall index.

The region’s job market has been another source of growing vibrancy, though conditions remain only modestly supportive. The REVIVE Labor Market sub-composite increased 0.2% from the previous month. Since February, approximately 22,000 jobs have been added across Greater Washington, another meaningful shift following a period of weakness earlier in 2025.

Investor sentiment also improved during the month, with the corresponding REVIVE sub-index rising 6.0%. Sentiment toward both apartment and commercial real estate assets strengthened, while share prices of regional banks and Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the region posted gains, signaling growing confidence in the area's economic outlook.

Real estate investment was the primary area of softness within the index in July, despite being better positioned than it was 12 to 18 months ago. Investment activity across the apartment and commercial property sectors has faced recent headwinds from elevated interest rates, ongoing adjustments to the size of the federal workforce, and property-specific market challenges. However, underlying fundamentals remain encouraging, with occupied space and rental rates continuing to trend positively. As a result, the REVIVE Commercial Real Estate sub-index declined 1.1% over the month, a modest pullback that suggests slowing momentum rather than a significant deterioration in market conditions.

REVIVE Index Archive

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