In Chester County, the median household income is nearly $100,000 — making it the richest county in the commonwealth, according to a new report.
Financial news and opinion website 24/7 Wall Street has reported that the southeastern Pennsylvania county boasts a median household income of $96,726, compared to the Keystone State’s median of $59,455. The poverty rate of 6.8% is just over half of the state’s rate of 12.8%.
Chester’s unemployment rate is almost an entire percentage point below the state’s average (3.3% vs. 4.2%). It has a higher percentage of adult residents with a bachelor’s degree (52.8%) than other counties across the state (30.8%).
Chester County, with a population of nearly 500,000, includes some Philadelphia Main Line suburbs such as Malvern.
In determining the richest county in each state, the study looked at annual household income in more than 2,000 counties nationwide using five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
By comparison, here are the richest counties in the nation’s four states that are larger than Pennsylvania:
1. California — Santa Clara County — $116,178 (state: $71,228)
2. Texas — Fort Bend County — $111,240 (state: $65,323)
3. Florida — St. John’s County — $77, 323 (state: $53,267)
4. New York — Nassau — $95, 561 (state: $59,570)
