[mikemike]

#10: Charles County, Md.
#9: Calvert County, Md.
#8: Somerset County, N.J.
#7: Nassau County, N.Y.
#6: Montgomery County, Md.
#5: Arlington County, Va.
#4: Morris County, N.J.
#3: Howard County, Md.
#2: Fairfax County, Va.
Richest County: Loudoun County, Va.

The Richest Counties in America - Newsweek

Washington D.C. still has the highest poverty rate in the country.

Anyone looking to solve the problem of income inequality needs to look no further than the beltway. No wonder the powers that be don't want to make social security benefits more progressive or drop the home interest tax credit. Greedy, overpaid politicians and bureaucrats disgust me.

[MRRiley]

And DC's poverty rate is not the fault of any of the counties on that list!

[mikemike]

And DC's poverty rate is not the fault of any of the counties on that list!

DC exhibits an extreme case of white flight. All the rich people packed up and move to the suburbs and exurbs and stopped investing in the city, outside of downtown or other commercial districts. They just commute in for a nice job and take off, avoiding interaction with the indigenous urban population.

Race and ethnicity: Washington, DC | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I was astounded by Bill Rankin's map of Chicago's racial and ethnic divides and wanted to see what other cities looked like mapped the same way. To match his map, Red is White, Blue is Black, Green is Asian, Orange is Hispanic, Gray is Other, and each dot is 25 people. Data from Census 2000.

You haven't lifted a finger to hurt them directly, but your choice of where to live and send your property taxes for good schools and your local spending has contributed to the lack of opportunity in DC.

[MRRiley]

I live in Loudoun County because I like having a yard and not sharing a wall with my neighbors on either side. I also live here because this is where my job is. How stupid would it be to live in DC just so I could subsidize their tax base and then work 20 miles out in the suburbs?

Things are not nearly as simple and "black and white" as you seem to think they are. And the map you presented is wildly incorrect. All of northern VA and central MD are extremely integrated and have been for decades.

Mike

---

Last edited by MRRiley; 11-14-2010 at 05:04 AM. Reason: typo

[johnmflores]

Those racial/ethnic maps are fascinating and provoke a lot of discussion. Here's the link to the guy that does them and his collection on Flickr: Race and ethnicity - a set on Flickr

I can't really blame people for making decisions where to live and work that benefit themselves and their families. It take a person especially dedicated to larger social causes to place those issues ahead of their immediate loved ones, and there's no practical way to convince a significant number of people to do that.

That's where the role of government lies - to create the conditions where rehabilitating and rejuvenating depressed urban areas makes more sense (financially and otherwise) than razing another 400 acres of farmland to create the next set of McMansions, condos and big box retail center.

The fact that our nation's capital and many of its older cities lie in a state of urban squalor - DC, Baltimore, Trenton, Troy NY, New Haven CT, etc... is a failure of leadership and a national disgrace.

[MRRiley]

I'd like to know the precise methodoly in calculating the color of the dots. One comment on the flickr page discussing the DC Metro map claims that each dot was an aggregate representing 25 people. This would hide a lot of detail if only the majority was identified in each group. If 13 people in the dot group were white and 12 were black the dot would be coded as red. This would effectively hide a near equal number of black citizens in that group thus seriously skewing the observable results.

I don't dispute that the ghetto areas in DC tend to be largely black neighborhoods and this is regrettable. But you really can't blame people with the financial means who move out of depressed and crime ridden areas... regardless of their race or ethnicity. As for me... I never fled DC or any inner city. My family has been suburbanites for as far back as I know.

Mike

[mel]

And the majority of Federal workers (like my family) live about 3 to 5 counties out of the city because we can't afford to live in within two counties of DC.

[Ira]

These reports and studies from magazines mean nothing, because they're only based on and formulated to sell advertising space.

Collier County, Florida...where Naples is located...was for a few years the richest county in the country, based on investment and retirement income. But this wealth was calculated based on the huge farms outside of Naples, and using population-based criteria, this may be true.

But go to Collier County and see what a TOILET it is. (You haven't lived until you've been to Immokalee.)

It's like saying that Las Olas Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale is 100 times richer than Oakland Park Boulevard--even tough the latter is a few blocks north of the former.

It just doesn't mean anything.

[Parallax]

The other thing that often gets left of of the equation is cost of living. South Dakota is one of the "poorest" states by per capita income, yet generally rates very high in Quality of Life studies.

[MRRiley]

The other thing that often gets left of of the equation is cost of living. South Dakota is one of the "poorest" states by per capita income, yet generally rates very high in Quality of Life studies.

Very true Jim... A family making $100,000 a year and living in northern, VA would be living in near poverty. Even a modest 2-3 bedroom townhouse without any personal yard can cost $200-600K out here (the closer you get to DC the more it costs). Four story brownstones (basically 15' wide row houses) go for upwards of $1,000,000 in DC. The house we live in, a 3br on a 5th of an acre was over $300k and it's 25 miles outside of town. The same house, in many parts of the country would be $150k or less. Heck, a 1 bedroom apartment that would go for $300-400 anywhere else can run over $1000 here abouts... In DC $1500 is not unheard off for an apartment.

Mike

[Parallax]

Around here your house would be in the 110,000 - 120,000 neighborhood.

[mel]

Very true Jim... A family making $100,000 a year and living in northern, VA would be living in near poverty. Even a modest 2-3 bedroom townhouse without any personal yard can cost $200-600K out here (the closer you get to DC the more it costs). Four story brownstones (basically 15' wide row houses) go for upwards of $1,000,000 in DC. The house we live in, a 3br on a 5th of an acre was over $300k and it's 25 miles outside of town. The same house, in many parts of the country would be $150k or less. Heck, a 1 bedroom apartment that would go for $300-400 anywhere else can run over $1000 here abouts... In DC $1500 is not unheard off for an apartment.

Mike

When we moved here it was near the peak of real estate prices and townhouses like you described, even out here three counties away from DC (about 50 miles I think it is) were going for over $400K. So of course a relative price for our house is what we are now stuck paying a mortgage (or two) on.

[mikemike]

I can't really blame people for making decisions where to live and work that benefit themselves and their families. It take a person especially dedicated to larger social causes to place those issues ahead of their immediate loved ones, and there's no practical way to convince a significant number of people to do that.

That's where the role of government lies - to create the conditions where rehabilitating and rejuvenating depressed urban areas makes more sense (financially and otherwise) than razing another 400 acres of farmland to create the next set of McMansions, condos and big box retail center.

The fact that our nation's capital and many of its older cities lie in a state of urban squalor - DC, Baltimore, Trenton, Troy NY, New Haven CT, etc... is a failure of leadership and a national disgrace.

Yup, its sad

I think the only thing that saves my city from this is the fact that you have to drive about 30 miles across a lake or swamps to find the undeveloped farm land... And even that hasn't deterred some of the most hardcore urban deserters.

I'd like to know the precise methodoly in calculating the color of the dots. One comment on the flickr page discussing the DC Metro map claims that each dot was an aggregate representing 25 people. This would hide a lot of detail if only the majority was identified in each group. If 13 people in the dot group were white and 12 were black the dot would be coded as red. This would effectively hide a near equal number of black citizens in that group thus seriously skewing the observable results

I don't think the map mixes races, it would simply put two dots 1 red and 1 blue. If you zoom into the original version on flicker you can see that even in areas where it is highly concentrated there are a couple of dots where you have pockets of minorities living in an otherwise all white or all black neighborhood. For example there are a few blacks and asians living in the capital hill neighborhood which is 89% white and there are a smattering of whites and hispanics living in Anacostia.

It's like saying that Las Olas Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale is 100 times richer than Oakland Park Boulevard--even tough the latter is a few blocks north of the former.

That probably is true. But the fact that someone from Oakland Park is able to walk a few blocks up to Las Olas and find a good job creates a huge opportunity for them compared to if they had to catch 4 different buses to find something outside of a fast food joint.

And the majority of Federal workers (like my family) live about 3 to 5 counties out of the city because we can't afford to live in within two counties of DC.

I don't know whether it is the federal civilian workers, contractors, spooks, politicians, or influence peddlers but there is a huge amount of money being sucked into the District from the rest of the country because the main industries there are bureaucracy and defense. The idea that the federal government is going to solve the problems associated with income inequality by redistributing anywhere other than DC is incredible because there is no record of them ever doing any such thing.

[MRRiley]

Mike... my comment about the makeup of the dots was based on (as I said) a comment on the Flickr site. No one disputed it or clarified the methodology so the scenario I invisioned is totally plausible and is actually valid in GIS circles. It like painting a state red or blue because of who the majority votes for. If the majority of citizens vote Republican, the whole state goes to the Republican candidate and for all practical purposes the votes and voices of the Democrats are silenced and forgotten.

As for who works in the DC area... The reason that there are so many politicians and federal workers and contractors etal is that this is simply were the government is. Even in today's world you are more likely to get your point across face to face than you are over the phone of via a videoconference. Companies set up here simply because it is easier to deal with the government here than elsewhere. Frankly I'd rather be living in Montana but my company wants me here so here I be (until I can actually retire that is... then its off to Tennessee (blame the wife, she doesnt like Montana... LOL)).

[jeffkrol]

Frankly I'd rather be living in Montana but my company wants me here so here I be (until I can actually retire that is... then its off to Tennessee (blame the wife, she doesnt like Montana... LOL)).

Maybe you should show here this:

Nevada led the pack as the worst place to retire, followed by Michigan and Alaska, according MoneyRates.com. The site based its ranking on economic factors -- including cost of living in major metropolitan areas, unemployment and the tax burden -- climate, violent crime and property crime rates and life expectancy.

Rounding out the top ten: South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri and Arkansas.

Work & Life - Simply Stated Blogs | Real Simple