WASHINGTON - The D.C. area makes plenty of Top 10 lists, and this one shows its residents make the big bucks. According to a new report from Newsweek, seven of the nation's 10 richest counties are in this region.
Virginia's Loudoun County takes home the top spot, with its median household income exceeding $114,000 per year. Seventeen percent of Loudoun households make more than $200,000, while only 16 percent earn less than the national average household income of $50,000.
The survey, based on 2009 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, names Loudoun neighbor Fairfax County the No. 2 breadwinner in the country. The county was the first in America to hit six figures with its median household income, and more than half its homes make more than that number now.
"Fairfax County has traditionally been home away from home for many diplomats and officials who want to live in a rural community close to Washington, D.C.," Newsweek explains.
Maryland makes its entry onto the list with Howard County at No. 3. Thirty percent of its employed population earns six figures.
The rundown on the rest of this area's well-to-do counties goes like this: Arlington County at No. 5, Montgomery County and its median household income of $94,420 at No. 6 and Maryland's Calvert and Charles counties at Nos. 9 and 10.
The other counties on the list sit close to New York City in either New Jersey or New York state.
Speaking of states, this area takes home the "richest" title in that category, too: Maryland's median household income of $69,272 just edges out second-place state New Jersey.
