Howard County Fifth Wealthiest in Nation

Howard County checked in as the fifth most wealthy county in the United States, according to recently released census results.

Data from the 2011 American Community Survey released Thursday show that Maryland’s median household income was $70,004, nearly 39 percent higher than the national average of $50,502. 

Maryland has the highest median household income in the nation, and most of the wealth is concentrated in counties in the Baltimore-Washington area, according to the census.

Howard is the wealthiest county in the state, with a median household income of $98,953, according to the data.

These Maryland counties ranked in the top 25 wealthiest nationally:

• Howard County was 5th wealthiest, wiht $98,953 median household income
• Montgomery County was 10th wealthiest, with median household income of $92,909
• Anne Arundel County was 22nd wealthiest, with $84,138 median household income
• Carroll County was 23rd wealthiest, with median household income of $84,117

Harford County was 42nd wealthiest county.

While counties in Maryland did rate as some of the wealthiest in the country, some counties in Virginia had even higher median incomes.

Loudoun, Arlington and Fairfax County were the top three most wealthy counties in the nation.

Both nationally and in Maryland, incomes fell by about 1.3 percent between 2010 and 2011, though median incomes did rise in Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Harford Counties.

Find more detailed figures on population, income and other census data at the U.S. Census Bureau's American Factfinder Database.