Boasting income levels that averaged just over $84,000 last year, Washington, D.C., and the locales immediately surrounding it now have the distinction as the country's wealthiest metropolitan area.
According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the high income levels of federal workers, buttressed by the earnings of lawyers and lobbyists have played a major role boosting D.C. to the forefront and in the process, replacing the Silicon Valley's fortunes for the top slot.
Meanwhile, as the national median income hovers roughly at $50,000, a Bloomberg business analysis of the Census data indicates that San Jose (Calif.) had an average income of $83,944 in 2010, dropping from $84,483 in 2009. Those findings are in comparison to the average household incomes for Washington, which last year also fell from 2009.