Income levels vary enormously across American counties. The highest-income counties have median household incomes exceeding $150,000 — more than double the national median of approximately $75,000. These counties are concentrated around major tech hubs, government centers, and energy corridors. We ranked all 3,144 US counties by median household income to find the 50 wealthiest counties in America.
The top county is Santa Clara County, California, with a median household income of $164,281. The top 50 counties average $135,637 — a figure that reflects the extraordinary concentration of wealth in specific geographic pockets.
The 50 Counties with the Highest Income in America (2026)
Our income score is a percentile rank based on median household income and per capita income from the Census Bureau American Community Survey.
| Rank | County | State | Income Score | Median Household Income | Per Capita Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara County | CA | 100 | $164,281 | $80,312 |
| 2 | Loudoun County | VA | 100 | $181,765 | $71,986 |
| 3 | San Mateo County | CA | 99.9 | $158,855 | $84,288 |
| 4 | Howard County | MD | 99.9 | $149,763 | $67,501 |
| 5 | Fairfax County | VA | 99.9 | $153,637 | $71,828 |
| 6 | Marin County | CA | 99.8 | $149,091 | $93,920 |
| 7 | Douglas County | CO | 99.8 | $149,594 | $69,608 |
| 8 | Los Alamos County | NM | 99.8 | $147,139 | $74,704 |
| 9 | Forsyth County | GA | 99.7 | $143,784 | $58,249 |
| 10 | Nassau County | NY | 99.7 | $146,202 | $64,198 |
| 11 | Falls Church city | VA | 99.7 | $143,262 | $88,790 |
| 12 | San Francisco County | CA | 99.6 | $140,970 | $92,289 |
| 13 | Hunterdon County | NJ | 99.6 | $141,715 | $72,227 |
| 14 | Somerset County | NJ | 99.6 | $140,374 | $72,193 |
| 15 | Arlington County | VA | 99.6 | $142,114 | $90,786 |
| 16 | Nantucket County | MA | 99.5 | $139,688 | $77,014 |
| 17 | Summit County | UT | 99.5 | $138,114 | $79,376 |
| 18 | Stafford County | VA | 99.5 | $137,807 | $53,157 |
| 19 | Aleutians West Census Area | AK | 99.4 | $135,500 | $57,451 |
| 20 | Morris County | NJ | 99.4 | $137,326 | $71,044 |
| 21 | Williamson County | TN | 99.4 | $135,594 | $66,219 |
| 22 | Elbert County | CO | 99.3 | $132,685 | $59,151 |
| 23 | Calvert County | MD | 99.3 | $133,922 | $57,710 |
| 24 | Delaware County | OH | 99.3 | $133,540 | $61,395 |
| 25 | Montgomery County | MD | 99.2 | $132,450 | $67,571 |
| 26 | Fairfax city | VA | 99.2 | $132,348 | $63,647 |
| 27 | Prince William County | VA | 99.2 | $131,402 | $51,802 |
| 28 | Middlesex County | MA | 99.1 | $130,847 | $69,556 |
| 29 | Norfolk County | MA | 99.1 | $130,739 | $71,758 |
| 30 | Morgan County | UT | 99.1 | $130,929 | $46,133 |
| 31 | Alameda County | CA | 99 | $129,367 | $65,862 |
| 32 | Suffolk County | NY | 99 | $130,686 | $57,164 |
| 33 | Fauquier County | VA | 99 | $130,189 | $57,164 |
| 34 | Contra Costa County | CA | 98.9 | $127,229 | $62,927 |
| 35 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | CT | 98.9 | $128,188 | $82,266 |
| 36 | Chester County | PA | 98.9 | $127,208 | $64,325 |
| 37 | Rockwall County | TX | 98.9 | $127,981 | $55,374 |
| 38 | Dukes County | MA | 98.8 | $125,786 | $79,756 |
| 39 | Carver County | MN | 98.8 | $125,946 | $60,893 |
| 40 | Putnam County | NY | 98.8 | $126,257 | $56,593 |
| 41 | Anne Arundel County | MD | 98.7 | $124,911 | $59,733 |
| 42 | Bergen County | NJ | 98.7 | $124,884 | $63,735 |
| 43 | Monmouth County | NJ | 98.7 | $124,845 | $66,696 |
| 44 | Broomfield County | CO | 98.6 | $123,874 | $64,288 |
| 45 | King County | WA | 98.6 | $124,746 | $74,100 |
| 46 | Teton County | WY | 98.6 | $124,172 | $89,594 |
| 47 | Oldham County | KY | 98.5 | $122,497 | $54,496 |
| 48 | Charles County | MD | 98.5 | $122,816 | $51,110 |
| 49 | New Kent County | VA | 98.5 | $123,314 | $52,739 |
| 50 | Hamilton County | IN | 98.4 | $121,530 | $60,278 |
The Virginia-California Income Corridor
High-income counties are not evenly distributed. Virginia (9 counties), California (6 counties), Maryland (5 counties), New Jersey (5 counties), Massachusetts (4 counties) dominate the top 50. Virginia's dominance is driven by the Washington DC suburbs — Loudoun, Fairfax, and Falls Church consistently rank at the very top due to federal contracting, technology, and professional services salaries.
California places multiple counties in the top tier, led by Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley) and San Mateo County. The tech industry's concentration in these counties has created some of the highest wage environments in the world. However, these same counties also have extreme housing costs that offset much of the income advantage.
Income vs. Cost of Living: The Real Picture
Raw income figures can be misleading without considering cost of living. A $150,000 household income in Loudoun County, Virginia sounds impressive — until you see that the median home value exceeds $600,000. By contrast, a $90,000 income in a rural Midwestern county where homes cost $150,000 may provide significantly more disposable income.
This is why CountyScore combines income and cost scores into a composite metric. Some of the highest-income counties actually score poorly on overall quality of life because housing costs consume such a large share of earnings. For pure earning power, the counties on this list are unmatched. For purchasing power, the picture is more nuanced.
Methodology
Income scores are calculated using median household income and per capita income from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2019-2023 5-Year Estimates). Each county is percentile-ranked on both metrics and the results are averaged into a single 0-100 score.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates (2019-2023), FBI Uniform Crime Reports (2022), CDC County Health Rankings (2024), FEMA National Risk Index, NCES school data, and EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System. All figures are estimates and may differ from other published analyses due to methodology differences.