The 10 Richest Counties In America 2017, by Rebecca Lerner

Here’s a shock: the top three are bedroom communities of Washington D.C., in northern Virginia, another such community is also in the top 10, and Los Alamos County, NM, wholly dependent on the federal government, also makes the top 10. Who said you can’t get rich working for the government? From Rebecca Lerner at 3.forbes.com:

Santa Clara County is the largest county on the list with 1.89 million residents. It contains San Jose, California’s third-largest city, and the Santa Clara Valley also known as Silicon Valley. The county is the headquarters for some 6500 technology companies, including Cisco Systems, Apple Inc., Google and Facebook.

9. Hunterdon County, NJ (Median household income: $102,797)

Home to commuters of both New York City and Philadelphia, Hunterdon County’s biggest employers at home are Amec Foster Wheeler NorthAmerica, Hunterdon Healthcare and Hunterdon Developmental Center. But though their incomes are impressive, residents of Hunterdon may not feel as rich due to the high costs of living, paying taxes and commuting in New Jersey.

8. Arlington County, VA (Median household income: $104,354)

The wealth in Arlington is coming from the Capitol. Arlington County is home to the Pentagon and many members of the Department of Defense, which employs 24,000 residents. Other major government agency employers include the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and the Department of State.

7. Williamson County, TN (Median household income: $104,367)

The fastest growing county in Tennessee, over half of the 489,250 residents are college educated. The biggest employers in the county are Community Health Systems Inc., United Healthcare and Nissan North America. Williamson County attracts new business with low costs— it has the lowest county tax in the Nashville area, no state income tax and the Nashville area has a 4% lower cost of living than the national average.

To continue reading: The 10 Richest Counties In America 2017