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Among 170 large counties, Fairfax and Loudoun
Counties in Washington’s Northern Virginia suburbs have the highest
median household income areas in 2006, according to the US Census
Bureau. However, when factoring in the cost of living, Williamson
County, Tennessee, in greater Nashville and Forsyth County, Georgia in
the Atlanta metro area rank as the two counties with the highest “real”
median household income among the counties studied, based on an analysis
of the most recent ACCRA Cost of Living Index data.
Policy makers who are using the median household
income data should pay more attention to the effects of cost of living
adjustment. In areas with higher cost of living, the current median
household income report overstates the buying power of household
incomes. At the same time, households in areas with a lower cost of
living frequently do better than their ranking might suggest. As the
following table shows, the ranking of the nation’s wealthiest counties
changes considerably when adjusted for the ACCRA Cost of Living Index.
* The median household income data is from the
U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey (ACS) at the county level. The
ACS-reported 2006 US median household income was $48,451. For more information
on the U.S. Census data, visit the American Community Survey at
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/.
The ACCRA Cost of Living Index measures regional
differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and
nonconsumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top
income quintile. It is based on more than 50,000 prices covering 60 different
items for which prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic
development organizations or university applied economic centers in each
participating urban area. Small differences should not be interpreted as showing
a measurable difference. The composite index is based on six components –
housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous
goods and services.
C2ER provides 2006 adjusted median household income data, reflecting the effects of the 2006 ACCRA Cost of Living Index as a report available at our online store for $12.95 .
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