The good life in Douglas County

Suburban area's $92,732 median household income ranks it No. 2 in country

James Paton, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 30, 2005 at midnight

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Keeping up with the Joneses in Douglas County isn't easy.

The county ranks No. 2 in the nation with a median household income of $92,732, close behind Los Alamos County, N.M., and ahead of Loudoun County, Va., the Census Bureau said Tuesday. The bureau cited figures from 2003, the latest data available.

The south metro county, situated between Denver and Colorado Springs, actually lost ground in 2003, slipping from the No. 1 spot in 2002, the data show. Local officials attributed that to an increase of affordable housing, a trend they see as a positive.

"We believe more diversity in housing is good news," said Wendy Holmes, public affairs director for Douglas County. "This means more people who work here can live here."

The median household income for the nation was $43,318. Colorado's median income of $49,248 was No. 9 in the state rankings.

Statewide, Elbert County - at $66,507 - was second behind Douglas, with Broomfield County next at $63,883.

Costilla County ranked last in Colorado with a median household income of $21,640.

Other metro-area counties include Jefferson ($58,786), Boulder ($56,956), Arapahoe ($55,780), Adams ($48,658) and Denver ($40,883).

The household income gap between Douglas and Costilla counties - the richest and the poorest statewide - narrowed in the latest year.

The Census Bureau report examined all counties across the country, not just the larger ones. That explains why Douglas County, with a population of roughly 250,000 people, continues to appear so prominently on the national list.

"It's not a surprise," said David Mitchem, president of the Castle Rock Economic Development Council in Douglas County. "But it's still gratifying to see."

Officials in fast-growing Douglas County cited a strong school system and a concentration of Denver Tech Center workers earning handsome salaries as a couple of the factors behind the lofty income levels. Douglas County is home to Castle Rock and Parker in addition to Castle Pines and Highlands Ranch.

Los Alamos County recorded median household income of $93,089 in 2003. Buffalo County, S.D., languished at the other end, at $17,003.

More economic figures surfaced Tuesday, showing that Denver and the rest of the state stack up quite well with other U.S. regions when looking at average wages.

Denver County in the first quarter ranked 33rd among 322 large counties across the country, the same spot it occupied a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

The average weekly wage, according to figures released in October, was $976 in Denver County in the first quarter, up 3.8 percent.

Colorado's average weekly wage of $787 made the state No. 11 in the country, the report showed.

Colorado also came in 11th last year.

While reports about how much money Coloradans take home remain relatively positive, other figures suggest many residents may have a different view as wages barely keep pace with inflation.

The Consumer Price Index for the Denver, Boulder and Greeley area increased by 8 percent between 2000 and 2004, while the average weekly wage grew by 8.4 percent during that period, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said.

And more people live in poverty now than in 2000. That year, the poverty rate in Colorado was 8.7 percent, according to the Census Bureau and the American Community Survey. In 2004, it was 11.1 percent.

The 2.4 percent increase was the fourth-highest in the nation for that period, trailing only Mississippi (3.4), Idaho (3.1) and Nevada (2.7).

The richest and poorest

• Counties and states with the highest and lowest median incomes in 2003, as calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau:

COUNTIES

Top 10

County Income

Los Alamos County, N.M.    $93,089

Douglas County    92,732

Loudoun County, Va.    89,890

Hunterdon County, N.J.    84,016

Fairfax County, Va.    82,481

Hamilton County, Ind.    80,691

Morris County, N.J.    79,977

Howard County, Md.    79,455

Somerset County, N.J.    77,988

Montgomery County, Md.    76,546

Bottom 10

County Income

Wilcox County, Ala.    $19,524

Hancock County, Tenn.    19,228

Starr County, Texas    19,127

Holmes County, Miss.    19,057

Clay County, Ky.    18,724

Zavala County, Texas    18,553

McDowell County, W.Va.    18,344

Ziebach County, S.D.    17,753

Owsley County, Ky.    17,344

Buffalo County, S.D.    17,003

STATES

Top 10

State Income

Conn. $56,409

N.J. 56,356

Md. 54,302

Mass. 52,713

N.H. 52,409

Alaska 52,391

Minn. 50,750

Va. 50,028

Colo. 49,248

Del. 48,770

Bottom 10

State Income

Tenn. $37,925

Ky. 36,663

Ala. 36,131

Okla. 35,634

N.M. 35,091

Mont. 34,449

La. 33,792

Ark. 33,445

W.Va. 32,967

Miss. 32,397

Source: The Associated Press

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2544

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