The counties where Black households earn the most
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Across the 50 states, the median Black household earns about $55,900 a year and the median white household about $81,100. In Stafford County, Virginia, the median Black household earns $145,572. In Charles County, Maryland, Black households out-earn white households in a county where Black residents are the majority.
The Census Bureau publishes median household income by race for every county, but only where the group is large enough to measure. The figures below are limited to counties with at least 100,000 residents, and the discussion focuses on counties with large Black populations, where the medians are stable.
| County | Black median income | White median income | Black residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford County, VA | $145,572 | $139,567 | 31,801 |
| Loudoun County, VA | $141,730 | $188,312 | 32,463 |
| Nassau County, NY | $133,815 | $149,366 | 150,236 |
| Charles County, MD | $124,866 | $120,119 | 82,452 |
The Washington suburbs
Three of the four are suburbs of Washington, DC. Stafford County is 40 miles south of the city along Interstate 95, and its Black median of $145,572 is the highest in the country among counties with a Black population above 30,000. It edges the county's white median of $139,567. Loudoun County, west of Dulles airport, has the highest overall median income of any county in the country and a Black median of $141,730.
Charles County is the clearest case. It is 82,452 Black residents in a county of 170,527, a Black majority, and the Black median of $124,866 is $4,747 above the white median. The county's growth as a Black middle-class suburb is covered in Waldorf, the suburb that became majority Black.
The common thread in all of this is the federal government. All three counties draw heavily on federal employment and contracting, where pay scales are set by grade rather than negotiated, and where Black workers are represented at senior levels at rates well above the private sector.
Nassau County
Nassau County on Long Island has 150,236 Black residents, by far the largest Black population of any county on the list, and a Black median of $133,815. That is roughly $78,000 above the median across states. Nassau's white median is higher at $149,366, but the Black figure alone would rank the county among the wealthiest in the country if it stood on its own.
Where Black households out-earn white households
In a handful of large counties the Black median exceeds the white median. Charles County and Stafford County are the two with substantial Black populations. Webb County, Texas, which is Laredo, shows a Black median of $103,365 against a white median of $79,454. Santa Cruz County and Napa County in California show the same pattern.
Several other counties post very high Black medians on small populations. Maui County, Hawaii reports $165,748, the highest figure anywhere, but on 1,368 Black residents, many of them military households. Wright County, Minnesota and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska are similar. Medians on groups that small carry wide margins of error and can move by tens of thousands of dollars between survey vintages.
The full ranking is on the highest Black household income by county page.
Sources
Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B19013B (Black alone householder) and B19013H (white alone, not Hispanic householder). CensusEasy stores race-specific medians only where a county has at least 1,000 residents of that group. The national reference figures are the median of the 50 state values and are not the bureau's published national medians. Counties shown have at least 100,000 residents.
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Which county has the highest Black household income?
Among counties with a Black population above 30,000, Stafford County, Virginia has the highest Black median household income at $145,572, according to American Community Survey data. Loudoun County, Virginia is next at $141,730, then Nassau County, New York at $133,815. Maui County, Hawaii reports a higher figure at $165,748 but on only 1,368 Black residents.
Where do Black households earn more than white households?
Charles County, Maryland, where the Black median of $124,866 is $4,747 above the white median in a county where Black residents are the majority. Stafford County, Virginia also shows a Black median slightly above the white median. Webb County, Texas, Santa Cruz County, California, and Napa County, California show the same pattern on smaller Black populations.
Why are the highest Black incomes near Washington, DC?
Stafford, Loudoun, and Charles counties all draw heavily on federal employment and government contracting. Federal pay is set by grade rather than negotiated, and Black workers hold senior federal positions at rates well above the private sector. That combination has produced a large Black upper-middle class in the Washington suburbs over several decades.
