Lifestyles of the rich and suburban
The Washington metropolitan area is now home to five of the ten richest large counties in America, including the top three, according to new data from the Census Bureau. The region is also the second wealthiest in the countryâ??behind San Joseâ??and has the lowest poverty rate (7%) of any big metropolitan area. The Census Bureau defines a big county as having more than 250,000 people. Loudoun County, Virginia, with an estimated median household income of $98,000, is the richest such county in America; Fairfax County, Virginia, and Howard County, Maryland, are close behind, with median household incomes of $94,000 and $91,000, respectively. Marylandâ??s Montgomery County is sixth, with slightly more than $82,000, and Virginiaâ??s Prince William County is seventh, with a median household income of just under $82,000.
The rise in wealth, reported the Washington Post, stems in part from the technology boom of the 1990s, which established the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia as hubs for defence, aerospace and biotechnology work. The regionâ??s businesses have since been flush with federal cash as they win new security and defence contracts in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 2001.
