List: Among richest cities, D.C. region is king

WASHINGTON – The D.C. region recently earned top honors among America’s richest cities.

With a median household income of almost $87,000, the Washington/Arlington/Alexandria area ranks first on the list from 247WallSt.com. Other contributing factors for the list include the region’s 29th lowest unemployment rate, 5th lowest number of households below the poverty line and 7th highest population.

Almost half of the region’s adult residents have at least a college degree, according to a Brookings Institute study that 247WallSt cites. The median home value in the region is more that double the national price of $173,600, the site says, and 4.5 percent of regional homes are worth more than $1 million. Nationally, this accounts for only 2 percent.

By contrast, some of the most impoverished regions are not that far away. Cumberland, Md., near the West Virginia border, ranks 9th on the 247WallSt sister list of the poorest cities. Almost 20 percent of households there below the poverty line, with a median income of less than $35,000. That signals a $3,787 decline between 2007 and 2011.

The rest of the rich list hails from affluent corners of the country, such as California’s Bay Area, coastal powerhouses in New England and quiet destinations like Boulder or Poughkeepsie.

Check out the full list of richest cities here (with median household income):

  1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. ($86,680)
  2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($84,012)
  3. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn. ($77,289)
  4. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif. ($74,623)
  5. Trenton-Ewing, N.J. ($73,890)
  6. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ($71,975)
  7. Anchorage, Alaska ($71,700)
  8. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. ($69,455)
  9. Boulder, Colo. ($68,637)
  10. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown N.Y. ($66,734)

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