Don’t let a down economy fool you: More well-to-do citizens reside in Loudoun than elsewhere in the nation.
Loudoun’s median household income exceeds that of any other county in the nation in 2009, according to Forbes Magazine’s list of America’s 25 richest counties. Loudoun families bring home a median of $110,643 annually. That number has dropped since 2008, when Loudoun also ranked first in the nation for median income at $111,925.
Forbes describes Loudoun as “emblematic of the counties where the highest incomes are found” because it is a suburb of a big-industry center, Washington, D.C. Forbes also lists the Washington metropolitan area as the top city where the recession is easing.
But, with a higher median income comes a higher cost of living. For example, in January 2010 the most recent information available, the average purchase price on homes in Loudoun was $382,729, according to Rockville, Md.-based Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.
Still, Loudoun residents benefit from the presence of the federal government in Washington: The jobs it creates have kept the metropolitan area’s unemployment rate well below the national average. In February, Loudoun’s rate was 4.6 percent compared to 10 percent nationally, according to Loudoun’s monthly economic indicator report.
Loudoun isn’t the only county that benefits from proximity to the U.S. Capital. Fairfax County falls in line right behind Loudoun in highest median income.
Although Loudoun brings in the highest paychecks, the county is strapped with a mounting budget deficit—$191.6 million in fiscal year 2011. A sizable cut of those paychecks goes to property taxes—an average of $4,844 per person annually, which is highest in the South, according to a separate study released by Forbes.com in February. Forbes cites the 2008 U.S. Census’ American Community Survey, which lists the national property tax average as $1,180.
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Ranking and median incomes of Washington, D.C., metropolitan-area counties
1. Loudoun County ($110,643)
2. Fairfax County ($106, 785)
3. Howard County, Md. ($101, 710)
6. Fairfax City ($98,133)
9. Arlington County ($96,390)
10. Montgomery County, Md. ($93,999)
12. Stafford County ($89,536)
13. Calvert County, Md. ($89,049)
14. Prince William ($88,675)
21. Charles County, Md. ($86,586)
23. Alexandria City ($85,135)
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There is one area that Forbes magazine has yet to report on that is which county complains the most. If you have lived here all your life I can understand your problem. If you moved here in the last 10 years I have a question for you? Were you forced to move here and did you not check out how much things cost before you moved. This is still the fifth fastest growing county in the U.S. The only reason that you came here was that it was good for you to do so right? Everyone wants the benefits but not what goes along with it. And no I am not ba teacher.
The starting salary for a teacher in Loudoun is $43,000. School secretary starts at $28,000. I dare anyone to live off that in this county without a partner. Asst. Principal at the high school level starts at $77,000 (less for elementary and middle schools). The only school staff making $100K or more are High School Principals and above. THAT is where the fat needs cutting!
Broke,
Are you kidding me? Clearly, you are living beyond your means AND you lack financial management skills.
It’s because your taxes are too high. Federal, state and local.
Our family earns nearly 50% more than the median income and we still feel poor. Home prices, daycare costs, general living expenses, and once all is said and done, we’ve got lint left in our pockets.
Tim,
A couple of things. Loudoun’s teachers average 60k not 40k. To say society places more emphasis on sports and morons like Paris Hilton is wrong. The media places more emphasis on that stuff, but parents are focused on their kid’s education - just read about the battle in Texas right now about the history curriculum. It has many more people involved than attend a Houston Rocket’s game. Now as far as income disparity and those who complain about low teacher pay (even though there is no low teacher pay in Loudoun) the best solution is do away with the public education system, give everyone a $9,000 voucher and let them shop for schools. Its a guarantee that the best teachers will be paid a lot more than 60k (they will be paid $100,000+) and who is stopping such a thing….the teachers unions who are set up to protect the “average” not the best.
Anaerobically - 1.(of an organism or tissue) living in the absence of air or free oxygen.
2.pertaining to or caused by the absence of oxygen.
I support the teachers are underpaid banner, but ‘anaerobically’??? Anyhow, putting a ball through a hoop gets you millions of dollars a year if you are the top 0.1%, but teaching dozens of children each year gets you $40K. But inequality is the American way, the value system is anything but. Paris Hilton is a celebrity for being a public idiot, but grind it out teachers toil in anonymity by the hundreds of thousands. Society places more monetary importance in sports, tv, and movie stars than the basic education that fosters that society.
its amazing that while half the county is the richest in the nation, western loudoun still has people with no indoor plumbing and gravel roads
Those who are making comments on teachers and salaries are obviously not teachers. My wife is an elementary school teacher, so let me share. She never works an 8 hour day, because parents and student’s each require special support for their situation - whether it be after school tutoring, conferences or just planning. 8 hours is the base for most, and for the upper schools, how much time do you think is devoted after hours to grading and developing lesson plans based on current events. Plenty. Anaerobically, I believe if you added up the unfunded but mandated “overtime” that most teachers spend (willingly) it eats a nice chunk into the 3 months off everyone seems to be so focused on. I am contractor in IT and there is no way I would accept a position where I was going to work 9-10 hours a day but only get paid for 8, and I don’t think anyone here would either. Also, as the people who are teaching and leading my kids, I want the salary to be strong as to attract quality people who did not “settle” to become a teacher. I don’t think anyone here thins that is a good value either. Teacher salaries across America low, this are is the exception to the rule. My wife has a colleague who travel everyday from WV because there salaries are close to 45% below most of NOVA. I believe the starting salary for a teacher in some parts of WV, with a MA, is not much higher than $22K, and some places in the deep south barely broach the 20k mark. Teachers as a group are under appreciated, underpaid, and when kids don’t perform - are the first to be lined up for the firing squad. It’s a thankless job for the most part. I certainly know that I had many average teachers, a few poor ones, and some who are the reason I am who I am today. Maybe if we treated them better we would get a consistently better product. Rant over.
Loudoun Taxpayer: Great point. Thomas Sowell would be proud!
The title of this article is as misleading as the median household income stat itself, which is heavily skewed because of the large number on double income married couples and other unique demographics. Loudoun ranks just 5th in northern Virginia in per capita income. Expenses are also not taken into consideration. But none of that matters to county bureaucrats who use the stat to back up their claim that residents can afford more spending and higher taxes.
Loudoun has the highest HOUSEHOLD income in the country ($110,643). According to LCPS the average teacher makes $59,734. So if your HOUSEHOLD has two teachers their HOUSEHOLD income in $119,468. Even take LCPS figures for starting teacher pay, $42,639. So assume two 23 year olds are beginning their careers as teachers and they are engaged. When they get married at 24 or 25 their HOUSEHOLD income will be close to $90,000. Assume they each decide to coach a sport for a season and during the summer work a session or two of summer school. Guess what?, their HOUSEHOLD income is probably $110,000. Would the teachers please stop complaining about not being paid enough.
A teacher just out of college was paid $43,065 for nine months of work in 2008. That works out to $57,420 on an annualized basis. That is good pay by any standard.
...or the Federal Government and the obscene amounts of money it spends could be slashed. Loudoun’s economy would suffer a temporary set back, but cost the of living would decrease and so would population growth thus reducing the need for ever increasing local budgets. For liberals who don’t believe in “trickle down” economics, Loudoun is a living example of it. Unfortunately its our money (and the rest of America’s) that is trickling down, not private capital. At some point in the next 20 years the spending will need to stop and Loudoun’s economy will be hard hit. From the other comments it doesn’t appear as though our teachers understand economics….
I hear ya, John. The county should index teacher pay to the median household income so they can share in the bounty the federal government provides. If I have to sell one of my Ferraris or vacation homes to pay higher taxes, it’s a sacrifice well worth it.
Just to bad they don’t pay the teachers that amount. Most teachers can not afford to live in Loudoun, and those who do live below poverty level.
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