Triangle ranks high in ‘08 N.C. economic data
Published: Sep 22, 2009 03:40 AM in The News & Observer
The Triangle may be taking a beating in the recession, but it started its economic slide from an enviable position.Wake County was the most prosperous of the state’s large counties in 2008, according to census data released Monday.
Its median household income of about $65,000 topped the state median income of $46,500 by nearly 40 percent. And fewer than 13 percent of its residents lacked health insurance, compared with nearly 16 percent statewide.
Durham, Orange and Johnston counties were also among the state’s 10 richest counties.
The data included only places with more than 65,000 residents, so more than half the state’s counties and all but 14 towns and cities were excluded.
Among those municipalities, Cary was far and away the richest place in the state.
Top incomes
The swelling suburban town had a median household income of nearly $92,000, almost twice the state’s median income and $35,000 more than its closest competing city, Concord.
And only about 6 percent of Cary’s residents lacked health insurance, compared with about 16 percent statewide.
Neighboring Raleigh, by comparison, had a median income of less than $54,000, and nearly 17 percent of its residents were uninsured.
The Charlotte area ranked fourth on the median-income lists.
The state’s poorest large counties were Robeson, south of Fayetteville, and Wilkes, in the mountains, with household incomes of about $30,000.
Staff researcher David Raynor contributed to this report.