Howard remains state's richest county
County is one of only four in country with median income above $100,000
By Derek Simmonsen
dsimmonsen@patuxent.com
Posted 8/27/08
For the third year in a row, Howard County was the richest county in the state and the third wealthiest in the country last year, according to U.S. census data released this week.
The county again trailed only Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Virginia in median household income for 2007. Howard had a median household income of $101,672, meaning half of the population made more than that and half made less, according to the American Community Survey, an annual census report that compiles socioeconomic data from around the country.
Howard was one of only four counties in the country to crack the $100,000 mark.
Two other Maryland counties also were in the top 10: Calvert County ranked sixth, and Montgomery County was 10th.
The median income in Howard grew by $7,412 from 2006, or about 7 percent, the census found. Nationwide, the median income rose about 1.3 percent.
The median household income in the United States last year was $50,740.
Maryland remained the richest state in the country with a median household income of $68,080. The remaining top five states, in order, were New Jersey, Connecticut, Alaska and Hawaii.
Not all of the local news was good. The number of people living below the poverty line in Howard County increased slightly, from 4.2 percent to 4.5 percent. The state figure is 8.3 percent; the national figure is 12.5 percent.
Dick Story, CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, attributed the county’s high incomes to its location between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., two large employment centers, as well as to the wealth of government employees and contractors in the area.
County officials, he said, are keeping an eye on the troubled national economy.
“We’re not immune to national trends when it comes to downturns,” Story said. “We will be buffered somewhat. We will feel the pain, but it won’t be lethal.”
The county again trailed only Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Virginia in median household income for 2007. Howard had a median household income of $101,672, meaning half of the population made more than that and half made less, according to the American Community Survey, an annual census report that compiles socioeconomic data from around the country.
Howard was one of only four counties in the country to crack the $100,000 mark.
Two other Maryland counties also were in the top 10: Calvert County ranked sixth, and Montgomery County was 10th.
The median income in Howard grew by $7,412 from 2006, or about 7 percent, the census found. Nationwide, the median income rose about 1.3 percent.
The median household income in the United States last year was $50,740.
Maryland remained the richest state in the country with a median household income of $68,080. The remaining top five states, in order, were New Jersey, Connecticut, Alaska and Hawaii.
Not all of the local news was good. The number of people living below the poverty line in Howard County increased slightly, from 4.2 percent to 4.5 percent. The state figure is 8.3 percent; the national figure is 12.5 percent.
Dick Story, CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, attributed the county’s high incomes to its location between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., two large employment centers, as well as to the wealth of government employees and contractors in the area.
County officials, he said, are keeping an eye on the troubled national economy.
“We’re not immune to national trends when it comes to downturns,” Story said. “We will be buffered somewhat. We will feel the pain, but it won’t be lethal.”
user comments (1)
user beatendowntaxpayer says...
Don't go telling the libs that run the county that we're the richest! Don't you know democrats think that means the have the right to tax us more? They think that wealth belongs to them for the taking?
Posted 11:48 PM, 08.27.08
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