The D.C. area has the highest median household income and most educated work force in the nation, a new report said Wednesday.

The Greater Washington Initiative, the city’s economic development marketing group, released its 2007 regional report, which found 45.9 percent of adults in the area have bachelor of arts degrees and the median household income is $74,000. Both figures are the highest of any metro area in the country, as is D.C.’s gross regional product of $359.3 billion.

“It’s great to continue to be No. 1,” said Tim Priest, GWI’s executive director.

GWI also found women in the area are about 11 percent more likely to become executives than those in the next leading region, San Francisco-San Jose.

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The cost of living here is 42 percent higher than the national average, but trails behind big cities such as Los Angeles, New York and the greater San Francisco area.

For the first time, the report included a projection of what the D.C. area will look like in 2012. GWI projected the region’s population will be 50 percent minority by then.

“We’ve seen that coming for a little while, but it is happening faster than we expected,” Priest said.

The area will also become less dependent on the federal government for jobs — the private sector will grow by 11 percent and account for 92 percent of the region’s new jobs, the report said. The region will add 319,000 new jobs by 2010, and the median value of existing homes will reach $500,000; new homes will cost a median of $439,180.

More than 1 million households, or 42 percent of the area, will have yearly incomes over $100,000, the report predicted.

Although the report did not address challenges the region will face in the future, Priest said D.C. will need to ensure it can keep its educated work force here and continue to bring talent to the area. The area also has a small service sector, and may have issues filling jobs in industries like construction and hotel service, he said.

melissa.frederick@dcexaminer.com