Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 16, 1993 TAG: 9304160438
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
RICHEST AMERICANS LIVE IN SUBURBS
Where do the people with the big paychecks live? The big-city suburbs of the Northeast are a good place to look, especially around New York City and Washington.At the other end of the scale is Starr County, Texas, a stretch of farmland on the Mexican border, where the median family income is the lowest in the nation.
There's a definite connection between what you make and where you live, according to a census study of median income.
Nationally, the typical family had a median income of $35,225 a year, the 1990 census found. To government statisticians, a family is a group of related people living together.
The counties where families earn top dollar are mainly clustered in two big bustling urban centers: Washington and New York City.
That's where you'll find such places as Fairfax County, Va., where the typical family makes $65,201, tops in the nation.
Four other Northern Virginia localities ranked in the top 20. Falls Church was fourth at $62,187; Fairfax was 17th at $56,419; Loudoun County was 18th at $56,006, and Arlington County was 19th at $55,346.
People who want to live far from the city lights typically must settle for less.
The lowest-ranked Virginia county was Lee, which had a median family income of $17,783 to come in 3,046th. Dickenson County was 2,959th at $19,498, and Russell County was 2,706th at $21,777.
Most of the lowest-income counties are rural. In Starr County, Texas, families typically make $10,903 a year, the lowest in the nation.
Other counties with family incomes below $12,000 a year are Owsley County, Ky.; East Carroll Parish, La.; and Shannon County, S.D.
But there are ways for families to combine country living and high income.
For example, there's Los Alamos County in the New Mexico mountains, where families typically earn $60,798. That's the eighth highest in the nation. Los Alamos is home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a federal nuclear research installation.
And sometimes you don't have to travel far to go from fat paychecks to slim. Morris County, N.J., has the second-highest family income in the nation, $62,749. About 20 miles away is the New York borough of the Bronx, with the nation's 2,026th highest income, $25,479.
\ VIRGINIA FAMILY INCOMES\ In dollars, with rank among the nation's 3,141 counties, and rank among counties in Virginia\ \ Locality Income U.S.rank Va.rank\ \ Alleghany 31,145 874 69\ Bedford 34,407 507 42\ Bland 28,750 1,289 86\ Botetourt 37,116 301 30\ Buchanan 22,464 2,596 132\ Campbell 31,833 766 59\ Craig 28,530 1,337 88\ Floyd 27,439 1,556 100\ Franklin 29,958 1,090 76\ Giles 29,416 1,179 82\ Henry 29,730 1,118 78\ Highland 25,714 1,976 115\ Montgomery 32,128 727 56\ Nelson 27,893 1,463 97\ Patrick 26,879 1,685 106\ Pulaski 28,057 1,432 96\ Roanoke 42,223 147 18\ Rockbridge 28,545 1,333 87\ Smyth 25,027 2,134 119\ Wythe 24,620 2,203 122\ Bedford city 28,133 1,417 95\ Buena Vista 28,345 1,372 91\ Clifton Forge 26,996 1,664 105\ Covington 26,091 1,893 112\ Danville 27,752 1,492 99\ Galax 25,490 2,022 116\ Harrisonburg 32,377 691 53\ Lexington 35,988 382 35\ Lynchburg 30,141 1,053 73\ Martinsville 29,604 1,141 80\ Radford 31,318 845 65\ Roanoke city 28,203 1,407 94\ Salem 35,619 414 38\ Staunton 32,414 685 52\ \ Source: 1990 Census
2. map-Average annual family income by state. AP (ran in State edition.)