Incomes up, poverty level flat in Montgomery, Prince George’s

Median incomes in Montgomery County reached $87,624 in 2006, the seventh-highest in the country. Only 4 percent of county residents live below the poverty line, the Census Bureau found.

In Prince George’s County, the median income was $65,851, while 7 percent of residents live in poverty.

Montgomery’s income levels have grown by 6 percent since 2004, while incomes in Prince George’s have increased by 10 percent during the same period. Poverty levels remained flat at 4 percent in Montgomery and 7 percent in Prince George’s during this time.

“Inner suburbs, by and large, are the places where you find people with ... higher income levels,” said Audrey Singer, a demographer at The Brookings Institute. “Places like ... Montgomery continue to be economically strong. People that are living there are doing well, and the cost of living is also higher than a lot of other areas, which accounts for the high median income levels.”

Both the median incomes and poverty rates are lower than the national average. Across the country, median income was $48,451, with the poverty rate at 12.3 percent.

Strong incomes and low poverty in Maryland’s Washington suburbs reflected a wider trend in the state and across the region. The Census found that Maryland had the highest median income in the country, at $65,144, and a poverty rate of 7.8 percent.

In Virginia, Fairfax County had a median income of $100,318, the highest in the country and the first time a county has broken the six-figure mark. It was followed by Loudoun County, where median income was $99,371.

For the District, median income was $51,847. Its poverty rate, however, far outpaced the national average, with 20 percent of residents living in poverty.

William Frey, also a demographer at Brookings, said the Washington region’s median income ranks second only to Silicon Valley’s.

“It’s only a matter of time until Washington is No. 1,” he said.

dfrancis@dcexaminer.com

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com