While parts of D.C. have a bad reputation, that only tells a very small part of the story. Like any major city, DC has had issues, but it is also the second most active US office market for foreign capital and the Washington, DC metro area is among the top 5 strongest economic hot spots in the United States.
While California is known for Silicon Valley, DC has actually seen incredible job growth in the business and trade sectors. As far back as 2015 the District of Columbia was considered a top global financial center, and ranked ahead of Boston, Chicago and Frankfurt.