News & Politics

Washington’s Median Income Rose Nearly 10 Percent in 4 Years

The District had the 17th-fastest-growing median income between 2007 and 2011.

The median income in the District rose 9.7 percent from 2007 to 2011, making Washington the city with the 17th-fastest-growing income during that period, according to the personal finance website Nerd Wallet. Median earnings jumped from $42,041 in 2007 to $46,112.
That DC came in near the bottom of Nerd Wallet’s top-20 list wouldn’t be notable if the District didn’t have the third-highest median income of the cities included. The city with the fastest-growing income, Chico, California, experienced a 32 percent gain over the four-year period, but that represents an increase from $15,898 to $20,979.
The only two cities on the list with a higher median income are Mountain View, California (home to Google) and Yorba Linda, California, which was the United States’ wealthiest city in 2006. Both are barely one-tenth the size of DC.

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.