Top 3 of nation's 4 richest counties are in NoVa

[Anonymous]

Bubbled up govt leeches.

[Anonymous]

No one disputes Howard and Loudoun are affluent suburban counties.

That the highest concentration of super expensive properties are in Montgomery, the district and Fairfax speaks volume and is the only actual "fact" we have on hand (although Loudoun has its impressive real estate around the Middleburg area, but that has a long history separate from the suburban growth of Loudoun in the last 20 years). The last sentence of yours is pure speculation.

It's like Manhattan. The average HHI in Manhattan isn't particularly high and is lower than many of the suburban counties, but the concentration of genuine wealth in Manhattan is indisputable.

Anonymous wrote:
All true, but in discussing the wealth of counties, you also have to add up all the more modest, but positive, net worths of Howard residents vs. the smaller, if not negative, net worthy of an increasing percentage of Montgomery residents. You also have to allow for the possibility that less of the wealth of residents of places like Howard and Loudoun may be tied up in local real estate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one disputes Howard and Loudoun are affluent suburban counties.

That the highest concentration of super expensive properties are in Montgomery, the district and Fairfax speaks volume and is the only actual "fact" we have on hand (although Loudoun has its impressive real estate around the Middleburg area, but that has a long history separate from the suburban growth of Loudoun in the last 20 years). The last sentence of yours is pure speculation.

It's like Manhattan. The average HHI in Manhattan isn't particularly high and is lower than many of the suburban counties, but the concentration of genuine wealth in Manhattan is indisputable.

Anonymous wrote:
All true, but in discussing the wealth of counties, you also have to add up all the more modest, but positive, net worths of Howard residents vs. the smaller, if not negative, net worthy of an increasing percentage of Montgomery residents. You also have to allow for the possibility that less of the wealth of residents of places like Howard and Loudoun may be tied up in local real estate.

The other facts on hand obviously are those that prompted the thread: the counties with the highest HHIs in the country (for which data is available for many years).

[Anonymous]

Moco is loco, too many illegals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one disputes Howard and Loudoun are affluent suburban counties.

That the highest concentration of super expensive properties are in Montgomery, the district and Fairfax speaks volume and is the only actual "fact" we have on hand (although Loudoun has its impressive real estate around the Middleburg area, but that has a long history separate from the suburban growth of Loudoun in the last 20 years). The last sentence of yours is pure speculation.

It's like Manhattan. The average HHI in Manhattan isn't particularly high and is lower than many of the suburban counties, but the concentration of genuine wealth in Manhattan is indisputable.

Anonymous wrote:
All true, but in discussing the wealth of counties, you also have to add up all the more modest, but positive, net worths of Howard residents vs. the smaller, if not negative, net worthy of an increasing percentage of Montgomery residents. You also have to allow for the possibility that less of the wealth of residents of places like Howard and Loudoun may be tied up in local real estate.

The other facts on hand obviously are those that prompted the thread: the counties with the highest HHIs in the country (for which data is available for many years).

I believe the conversation was shifting away from average HHI to genuine wealth.

When you get down to it, it's impressive that Montgomery County is more than three times the size of Howard County, more diverse, and still has an average HHI that is only slightly behind Howard. 100k versus 110k. I bet if you divided Montgomery into 1/3ds and took the Bethesda-Potomac third its average would be much higher than Howard. Bethesda and Potomac have average HHI 180k+. Ditto for McLean in Fairfax.

You might enjoy this link:
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/26/10-richest-neighborhoods-in-us.html

Potomac, Bethesda and McLean areas are included. Nothing in Howard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one disputes Howard and Loudoun are affluent suburban counties.

That the highest concentration of super expensive properties are in Montgomery, the district and Fairfax speaks volume and is the only actual "fact" we have on hand (although Loudoun has its impressive real estate around the Middleburg area, but that has a long history separate from the suburban growth of Loudoun in the last 20 years). The last sentence of yours is pure speculation.

It's like Manhattan. The average HHI in Manhattan isn't particularly high and is lower than many of the suburban counties, but the concentration of genuine wealth in Manhattan is indisputable.

Anonymous wrote:
All true, but in discussing the wealth of counties, you also have to add up all the more modest, but positive, net worths of Howard residents vs. the smaller, if not negative, net worthy of an increasing percentage of Montgomery residents. You also have to allow for the possibility that less of the wealth of residents of places like Howard and Loudoun may be tied up in local real estate.

The other facts on hand obviously are those that prompted the thread: the counties with the highest HHIs in the country (for which data is available for many years).

I believe the conversation was shifting away from average HHI to genuine wealth.

When you get down to it, it's impressive that Montgomery County is more than three times the size of Howard County, more diverse, and still has an average HHI that is only slightly behind Howard. 100k versus 110k. I bet if you divided Montgomery into 1/3ds and took the Bethesda-Potomac third its average would be much higher than Howard. Bethesda and Potomac have average HHI 180k+. Ditto for McLean in Fairfax.

You might enjoy this link:
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/26/10-richest-neighborhoods-in-us.html

Potomac, Bethesda and McLean areas are included. Nothing in Howard.

I think the conversation was probably trying to shift away from the implications of the decline in HHI in Montgomery, not in absolute terms but relative to other area jurisdictions.

What are the long-term implications of this? To what extent will people who may not be wealthy now, but will have high net worths later, going to avoid MoCo because they believe they'll be heavily taxed to support the growing number of low-income residents? Or, conversely, what, if anything, should MoCo need to do to reverse its relative decline? Are comparisons to marquee places like Manhattan relevant when discussing a suburban county?

[Anonymous]

It's all about the taxes. MoCo has been losing residents and businesses to Fairfax for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's all about the taxes. MoCo has been losing residents and businesses to Fairfax for a long time.

This is pretty seriously overstated. If MoCo has issues, it's more likely about the fact that property developers have gained massive power over the local government. Developers (rentiers, really) make the best $$$ off of the poor and marginalized: they're easier to squeeze!

[Anonymous]

^

Whatever the cause, Maryland is in trouble.

http://marylandreporter.com/2015/09/03/irs-data-again-shows-taxpayers-leaving-maryland/

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/3/marylanders-move-in-droves-to-virginia/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^

Whatever the cause, Maryland is in trouble.

http://marylandreporter.com/2015/09/03/irs-data-again-shows-taxpayers-leaving-maryland/

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/3/marylanders-move-in-droves-to-virginia/

Wow, that conclusion about Maryland being in trouble is like the conclusion that Trump is actually a Russian agent. I especially love the first of those two links, both from sites with NO clear agenda, as it shows immigration to and from Virginia being an absolute wash. Lol!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^

Whatever the cause, Maryland is in trouble.

http://marylandreporter.com/2015/09/03/irs-data-again-shows-taxpayers-leaving-maryland/

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/3/marylanders-move-in-droves-to-virginia/

Wow, that conclusion about Maryland being in trouble is like the conclusion that Trump is actually a Russian agent. I especially love the first of those two links, both from sites with NO clear agenda, as it shows immigration to and from Virginia being an absolute wash. Lol!

Explore the data available from a site like www.governing.com. You'd find that, even when net migration to and from Montgomery County to other area jurisdictions appears to be a wash or positive, MoCo may be losing tax revenue.

For example, in 2013-14, the adjusted gross incomes of US taxpayers leaving Montgomery County exceeded the AGIs of those arriving by about $15,000. That, along with other data discussed on the thread, suggests that MoCo is on the losing end of the stick.

[Anonymous]

What is the source of Loudon Co wealth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the source of Loudon Co wealth?

It's a mix of old money, transplants, and people leaving Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the source of Loudon Co wealth?

If you mean its high median HHI, it's DOD/GWOT spending making communities of people whose households are almost entirely in their prime earning years.

[Anonymous]

no