DC Overtakes Silicon Valley in Household Income

Our nation's capital city boasts the highest average income in the country, reports Bloomberg. New census statistics show that a household in the DC metro area typically earns $84,523, compared to the national median of $50,045. The booming salaries are explained by a dense concentration of lobbyists, lawyers, and federal employees who have prospered despite the recession. Federal workers, in fact, earn an average $126,000 in total compensation.

DC edges out former No. 1 San Jose in the heart of Silicon Valley, now at $83,944 per household. Washington was helped by the fact it endured the economic downswing better than other areas, as federal money flowed freely to its legions of federal workers and government contractors. It also has more lawyers per capita than anywhere else, with one lawyer for every 12 residents, with a median salary of $186,250. (More income stories.)