Things are looking good in Williamson County, as data released last week from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that it had the seventh highest median household income in the country in 2015.
The median household in Williamson County brought in an estimated $104,367 last year, according to the census statistics.
To go along with that, the county had an estimated five percent poverty rate, placing Williamson County tied for 10th lowest in the nation in that measurement.
The highest income county in the country was Loudon County, Virginia. It had a reported median household income of $125,900 last year. Four of the top ten counties for income were right outside Washington D.C., in Virginia. A fifth was a Washington D.C. commuter suburb in Maryland.
Tennessee as a whole did not fare nearly as well as Williamson County in the data. Whereas Williamson County had the seventh highest income of any county in the country, Tennessee ranked 43rd among states in median household income, with $47,243 in 2015. The lowest incomes were reported in Mississippi, with an estimated median household income of $40,630.
Likewise, Tennessee’s poverty rate was estimated to have been at 16.7 percent last year, placing it just outside the top ten for highest poverty rates. Mississippi had the highest poverty rate: 22.1 percent.
Within Tennessee, there was a big drop off in the numbers between Williamson County and the next wealthiest county in the state, Wilson County. Wilson County had an estimated median household income of $65,372 in 2015. That’s $38,995 less than the median income in Williamson County — a 37 percent difference.
The only state in the top ten to have a greater percentage difference between its two highest income counties was New Mexico, where there was a 41 percent drop between number one and number two. California, New Jersey and Virginia — three other states with counties in the top ten for income — showed a 1 percent, 1 percent and 3 percent drop respectively between their top two wealthiest counties.
These numbers also demonstrate that Williamson County’s median household income was estimated to be 120 percent greater than Tennessee’s median household income. Again, out of states with top ten counties, only New Mexico showed a wider gulf between its statewide average and the average of its wealthiest county.
Tennessee’s lowest-income county was reported to be Hancock County, where the median household income was estimated to be $27,987. The county in Tennessee with the highest poverty rate, according to census data, was Lake County where the rate was estimated at 43.1%.
Overall, the United States’ 3,141 counties had an estimated household median income of $55,775 and a poverty rate of 14.7 percent. Data showed that from 2007 — just before the Great Recession — and 2015, 18 percent of counties showed a statistically significant increase in poverty rates. Only two percent showed a statistically significant decrease.
The data was released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week as part of its Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Program. The data is released each year to help direct federal funding. It is the only annual collection of data that provides comprehensive county-level information on poverty rates and median household incomes, according to a document from the bureau.
The complete list of top ten earning counties in the United States, and their median household incomes is:
1. Loudoun County, VA $125,900
2. Falls Church city, VA $122,092
3. Fairfax County, VA $112,844
4. Howard County, MD $110,224
5. Douglas County, CO $109,926
6. Los Alamos County, NM $107,126
7. Williamson County, TN $107,126
8. Arlington County, VA $104,354
9. Hunterdon County, NJ $102,797
10. Santa Clara County, CA $102,191
