The 30 US Metros With The Highest And Lowest Incomes

Authored by Wolf Richter via WolfStreet.com,

Breath-taking differences in a vast country.

The Census Bureau released another data trove this week for 2016, based on the American Community Survey. Among many other data points, the survey details median household incomes by geographic location, such as by metro area, county, or state. And they show just how enormous the income differences in the US are from city to city.

Of the 382 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) that the US government recognizes, the median income of $110,000 in Silicon Valley is over three times the median income of $35,600 in Laredo, TX.

These MSAs can be large. For example, the extended San Francisco Bay Area is divided in several metros including the two biggest:

• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, which is the southern portion of Silicon Valley and includes Palo Alto.


• San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, which includes five counties (San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, and San Mateo) that make up the northern part of Silicon Valley, San Francisco, parts of the East Bay, and a part of the North Bay.

These two are also the metros that had the highest median household incomes in the US in 2016, of $110,040 and $96,677 respectively.

“Household income” is income by all household members and from all sources of money, including “earnings” (wages, salaries, and the like) and investment income such as interest, dividends, and rents (#11-#13):

1. Earnings


2. Unemployment compensation


3. Workers’ compensation


4. Social security


5. Supplemental security income


6. Public assistance


7. Veterans’ payments


8. Survivor benefits


9. Disability benefits


10. Pension or retirement income


11. Interest


12. Dividends


13. Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts


14. Educational assistance


15. Alimony


16. Child support


17. Financial assistance from outside of the household


18. Other income

Below are the 30 metros in the US with the highest household incomes. Those in California are color-coded: bright red for the extended Bay Area, burgundy (sort of) for Southern California, and neon-pink for the Central Coast.

In total, nine of the 30 metros with the highest median incomes are in California. There are many up and down the East Coast and a number of them in the middle of the country. Hawaii has two metros on the list, as has Alaska. But even within the top 30, the median household income of Number One is 57% higher than that of Number 30:

Below here are the 30 of the 382 metros with the lowest median household incomes. Note these lists represent the extremes in the US. There are 322 MSAs in between the two lists, and their income levels cluster closely around the national median household income:

The comparison shows just how vast the income differences by geographical regions are in a vast country, and it also explains a host of other differences, such as home prices and rents, where $1.2 million, for example, buys a median condo in San Francisco (these are nothing special) or a palatial house in Laredo, TX.

But “median household income” is an aggregate number that hides as much as it reveals. Here are some details. Read…  The Chilling Fact “Record Median Household Income” is Hiding

The "Taxation Is Theft" Meme Has Officially Gone Mainstream

Authored by Alice Salles via TheAntiMedia.org,

The month of April is a nightmare for anyone with a conscience, as we only have until “tax day” - which usually falls on April 15 - to give the taxman what he says he deserves. So if you pay taxes to Uncle Sam and you’re also aware you’re paying for mass murder in the Middle East and in U.S. streets due to the drug war, you should also feel sick to your stomach as you write that check.

To a restaurant customer, this may have served as enough incentive to remind his server that taxation is always immoral — but he didn’t stop there.

Last week, a customer at a Missouri restaurant gave the waitress a “personal gift” instead of a tip, writing the now popular line “Taxation is theft” in the tip section of the receipt.

In a second note, the fiscally conscious customer added:

“This is not a tip. This is a personal gift and not subject to federal or state income taxes.”

With major progressive news outlets like ATTN: reporting on this story, left-leaning reporters started to debate wages in the food and service industries, discussing the fact that tips end up being factored as wages, meaning they are always taxable.

But as that discussion developed, reporters were quick to realize that when personal gifts are in the mix, the taxman can’t take part of those earnings away. After all, a gift would have to exceed $13,000 to be subject to taxation, meaning that even if the customer had spent hundreds, the “personal gift” would not amount to anything close to the requirements stipulated by the IRS.

With that, ladies and gentlemen, it becomes easier to not only tip with class, but also with substance, giving your waiter a lesson on what’s moral and how to legally go around the rules to make sure they enjoy their full tip — not just the percentage deemed to be fit by the federal government.

As this story becomes part of the popular movement ignited by libertarians, expect to see more progressive news outlets becoming familiarized with the actual concept of taxation. What’s left for us to find out is if they are going to change their tune and start attacking people like this customer when the two-party pendulum swings once again and a fully Democratic slate takes over Washington.

Are they going to remain consistent in discussing taxation from the point of view of the worker, or are they going to side with the leech?

Only time will tell.