Posted on 09/20/2012 5:27:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Washington region has emerged from the recession looking even more affluent compared with the rest of the country, boasting seven of the 10 counties with the highest household incomes in the nation, new census numbers show.
With a median household income surpassing $119,000, Loudoun County heads the list. Fairfax County, at nearly $106,000, is second. Both have held the same positions for several years running.
More surprising, Arlington County leapfrogged from the fifth spot to third, with a median household income of almost $101,000, a $6,000 gain in one year. Four in 10 households in the county are single person, leaving Arlington with a relatively small share of residents whose affluence comes from two incomes, compared with Loudoun and Fairfax.
Other counties in the top 10 are Howard, Prince William, Fauquier and Montgomery, which had dropped out of it in 2010. Among states, Maryland has the nation’s highest household income level, and Virginia is ninth.
The rankings in the 2011 American Community Survey released Thursday expand Washington’s dominance among high-income households, reflecting a regional economy that was largely cushioned as the recession yanked down income levels elsewhere. Household incomes rose in most counties around Washington last year, even as they continued to sink around the country.
The stability of an economy built on the pillars of the federal government, its legions of contractors and a flourishing high-tech sector is evident in the income rankings.
In 2007, before the recession began, five counties in suburban Washington made it into the top 10. By 2010, there were six. The seven in the latest ranking is an all-time high.
“It’s not only that we have low unemployment and a lot of dual-income households,” said Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Cut the size of the Federal government by 10% and it would tank the Washington, D.C. metro area. Now you know why the people there will never accept fiscal prudence.
After the War of 1812 they'd been burned to the ground and most of their population had fled as refugees to the MidWest.
Is there a problem with the big city just off the Chesapeake Bay being wealthy?
I would also think that a popular topic of conversation in this part of the country is, “Recession? What recession?”
Yep, I live in s relatively poor rural county but work in Arlington. Between some permanent dependents out here and all the flush know-nothings closer in, Obama has bought himself a fair number of Virginia votes. Romney has his work cut out for him.
When you get away from the city, the topic is “what recession? This is a depression”. The only thing keeping the economy alive is some spillover from the government-driven boom closer in, but many people are still struggling.
surprise..politicians and pals have all the money
When it’s wealth built directly off the back of Taxpayers, then yes, there’s a huge problem.
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Were housing prices affected at all in these metro D.C. counties during the last few years?
I live in Arlington, but in my defense I make less than the median, and though I live off the government teat, I'm a defense contractor and I spend my days figuring out how to more efficiently kill foreigners, I swear, honest, so it's legitimate work.
The housing bubble burst here when it hit everywhere, but only to make homes worth twice what they were paid for, instead of three times. I live in Fairfax Co. and i am ALWAYS telling people we live in a false reality, the rest of the country is hurting. I was in las vegas last week and spoke to everyone i could to find out what they were thinking, how the economy was doing etc. They said it had picked up slightly but not remotely back to where it was several years ago. Everyone agreed the election would be close there. Nevada is a swing state.
And probably most, if not all, are solid blue counties.
This is news?
Been that way for a loooooooong time now, and only getting worse.
These are 47% counties
Loudoun bump
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