Business & Tech
Fairfax County Second Wealthiest in Nation
How wealthy we feel, given the cost of housing, may be another matter.
Fairfax County residents are rather wealthy—at least on paper.
More than half of the 390,000-plus households in Fairfax County (53.3 percent) have income of more than $100,000, according to 2011 American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
With a median household income of $106,000, Fairfax County is the second wealthiest county in the entire United States. Loudoun County was first with a median income of $119,000. Arlington County is third with a median income of $101,000, according to the 2011 data, WTOP reported.
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Those of us who live here know the cost of living is a major factor in how wealthy we actually feel.
Just last week, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova said residents of Fairfax County who make minimum wage could work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and still would not be able to afford a one-bedroom apartment due to high housing prices.
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The cost of living index in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is 139.2, or almost 40 percent higher than the average metropolitan area in the United States, according to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. The index for housing costs is 222.7, more than twice the average for major metropolitan areas in the United States.
Do you feel like you're well off, or are you living paycheck to paycheck because of housing costs, student loans and other bills?
The following data comes from the 2011 American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau:
Income Number of Households Percent of Households Margin of Error Less than $10,000 8,915 2.3 +/- 0.4 $10,000 to $14,999 6.840 1.7 +/- 0.5 $15,000 to $24,999 17,232 4.4 +/- 0.6 $25,000 to $34,999 16,802 4.3 +/- 0.6 $35,000 to $49,999 26,419 6.8 +/- 0.8 $50,000 to $74,999 53,639 13.7 +/- 1.1 $75,000 to $99,999 53,086 13.6 +/- 1.1 $100,000 to $149,999 83,145 21.3 +/- 1.3 $150,000 - $199,999 52,426 13.4 +/- 0.9 $200,000 or more 72,842 18.6 +/- 1.0Your Fairfax County Patch sites are on Facebook! Like us at www.facebook.com/fairfaxcopatch.
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