Income & Jobs
The Highest-Income Counties in America
U.S. county-level median income runs from under $35,000 to over $185,000. The highest-income counties are remarkably concentrated.
By City Zip Compare Editorial · March 8, 2026 · 8 min read
Of the 3,143 counties and county-equivalents in the United States, the top of the income distribution is dominated by Washington DC suburbs, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the New York commuter belt. The bottom is dominated by the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, and Native American reservation counties.
The top ten
Loudoun County, VA leads almost every release at roughly $170,000. Falls Church City, VA, Howard County, MD, Santa Clara County, CA (Silicon Valley), San Mateo County, CA, Arlington County, VA, Marin County, CA, Fairfax County, VA, Douglas County, CO, and Hunterdon County, NJ round out the top ten.
Eight of the top ten are commuter counties for either Washington DC or San Francisco. The two outliers — Douglas County (Denver suburb) and Hunterdon County (NYC commuter) — are still high-income suburban counties of major metros.
- Loudoun County, VA: ~$170,000
- Santa Clara County, CA: ~$153,000
- Howard County, MD: ~$135,000
- San Mateo County, CA: ~$149,000
- Marin County, CA: ~$142,000
Compare median household income across U.S. counties and states.
See County-Level Income RankingsWhy the top is so geographically narrow
Three industries drive the top of the U.S. county income distribution: federal contracting (DC suburbs), tech (Bay Area), and finance (NYC commuter belt). All three concentrate high-credential, high-wage workers in physically small jurisdictions, which produces extreme county-level medians.
There is no oil-state, manufacturing, or healthcare county in the top ten. That tells you something about which sectors generate concentrated wealth.
Why county data is more reliable than ZIP-level data here
Counties pool a much larger survey sample than individual ZIP codes, which means the margin of error on these headline figures is considerably tighter than you'd see comparing individual ZIP codes within the same county. If you're researching a specific neighborhood within one of these high-income counties, expect meaningful variation at the ZIP level — a county median of $170,000 can still contain individual ZIPs ranging from well below to well above that figure, depending on the specific mix of housing stock within the county.
Frequently asked
›What is the highest-income county in the United States?
Loudoun County, Virginia has consistently led in recent ACS5 releases, with a median household income around $170,000, driven heavily by federal contracting and technology employment.
›Why do federal contracting, tech, and finance dominate the top counties?
These three sectors concentrate a high share of credentialed, high-wage workers in physically compact commuter counties around Washington D.C., the Bay Area, and New York City, producing outsized county-level median incomes relative to their size.
›Is county-level income data more reliable than ZIP-level data?
Yes, generally. Counties pool a larger ACS survey sample than individual ZIP codes, which narrows the margin of error on the published estimates.
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Data: census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.