Fairfax County has the highest median income in the country, breaking the six-figure income level mark for the first time in history, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday.
The median income in Fairfax was $100,318 in 2006, edging out neighboring Loudoun County, which ranked second with a median income of $99,371. Fairfax — which added $5,708 to its median income from 2005 — overtook Loudoun in what is becoming a seesaw battle to claim the title as richest county in the country.
Incomes in Fairfax and Loudoun more than doubled the national median income of $48,451. In addition, poverty levels in each of the area’s four counties were well below the national average of 12.3 percent.
Jerry Gordon, president and chief executive officer of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said economic growth in Fairfax has driven incomes higher.
“Fairfax has been consistently aggressive” about attracting new businesses, he said. “We’ve used our natural conditions like proximity to Dulles Airport and the government as well as done things to be supportive of economic development, like grow a school system that’s important to this development.”
Incomes in Arlington and Prince William counties also crushed the national median. Median incomes were $87,350 in Arlington and $80,783 in Prince William.
High incomes in Northern Virginia reflected a wider regional trend. Median incomes in Montgomery County reached $87,624 in 2006, the seventh-highest in the country. Only 4 percent of county residents live below the poverty line, the Census Bureau found.
In Prince George’s County, the median income was $65,851, while 7 percent of residents live in poverty.
For the District, median income was $51,847. Its poverty rate, however, far outpaced the national average at 20 percent.
William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institute, said the Washington region’s median income ranks second only to Silicon Valley’s.
“It’s only a matter of time until Washington is No. 1,” he said.
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