The Washington DC MSA is, by population, the 6th largest MSA in the United States[1]. It also the 2nd most highly educated MSA in the US, by some measures[2]. T

The Washington DC MSA is, by population, the 6th largest MSA in the United States[1]. It also the 2nd most highly educated MSA in the US, by some measures[2]. The top three- and four of the top 6- richest counties in the country are part of the Washington DC MSA[3]. Given (2) and (3), the fact that it produces more than the fifth largest MSA by population in the country (Houston) should not surprise. The top four MSA's by population and by GDP are the same, in the same order- the one that is truly punching above its weight is the Bay Area, which is the 6th largest by GDP but the 12th by population.[4] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistical_areas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistic... [2]: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/26/the-10-most-and-least-educated-cities-in-the-united-states.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/26/the-10-most-and-least-educat... [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_countie... [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._metropolitan_areas_by_GDP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._metropolitan_area...