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Interactive: Visualizing Median Income For All 3,000+ U.S. Counties

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What U.S. counties have the lowest and the highest median household income?

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Interactive: Visualizing Median Income for All 3,000+ U.S. Counties

When thinking about the United States and its economy, we often think in terms of maps.

That’s why we have previously visualized the country’s $18 trillion economy by comparing specific regions to similarly sized countries. It’s also why we have shown the extreme variance in population distribution across counties, or highlighted the average income of the “Top 1%” throughout the country.

But there is perhaps nothing more telling or interesting to explore than the “granddaddy” of all economic maps: an interactive visualization of median household income.

That’s why today’s fantastic interactive map from Overflow Data is such a treat. It covers all 3,007 U.S. counties using color coding to show the richest and poorest counties based on median income, and it also allows users to drill down to the stats on counties at the state level.

Coasts, Mountains, and Oil

While the areas around coastal cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, or Washington, D.C. are often thought of as the wealthier parts of the country, this map helps reveal two other “belts” in the country with median incomes well above the national average of $53,889.

The first is in the mountains through states like Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and even parts of Nevada – where there is a cluster of more than 40 counties with median incomes of $60,000 or above. Aside from upscale ski areas in places like Summit County, UT or Jackson, WY, the counties in this belt also feature cities like Boulder, CO, or Salt Lake City, UT.

Areas that are rich in natural resources, such as parts of Alaska, Texas, and North Dakota, also tend to have more counties with above average median incomes. For example, Williams County, ND, is in the middle of the Bakken oilfield – and the median household income there is $88,013.

In Alaska, the northernmost county of North Slope Borough has less than 8,000 residents, but they boast a median household income of $72,576.

Tougher Times

On this map, the less wealthy areas are also very evident – and they tend to be most concentrated in the Southeast region of the country.

Many states, including ones like Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Arkansas, Texas, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and South Dakota, all have some counties that are at the very low end of median income spectrum.

More specifically, there are only two counties in the country that have income levels below $20,000: Sumter County, AL, and McCreary County, KY.

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Who Expects to Get Richer in 2024, by Both Generation and Gender

A survey of 600 high net worth individuals revealed there’s one subset of people who are confident of making it in 2024.

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A cropped graph showing the percentage of people surveyed in the Knight Frank Next Gen Survey, sorted by generation and gender, and whether they anticipate a wealth increase in 2024.

Who Expects to Get Richer in 2024, by Generation and Gender

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The jury is still out on how the global economy is expected to perform in 2024, but as seen during the pandemic, economic turmoil sometimes provides opportunities for the wealthy.

We visualize the percentage of high net worth individual (HNWI) respondents who expect their wealth to increase in 2024, categorized by generation and gender, from the Knight Frank Next Gen Survey, accessible in their latest wealth report.

The survey covered 600 global HNWIs, who are individuals with more than $1 million in assets or make more than $200,000 a year, and then categorized their responses by gender and generation.

Affluent Gen Z Women Eye Financial Gains in 2024

At a glance, there’s a very apparent generational difference in the expectations of getting richer in 2024.

About half (52%) of the surveyed Baby Boomers think their assets will grow, compared to Gen X (56%), Millennials, (69%), and Gen Z (75%).

GroupMaleFemaleOverall
👴 Boomer53%50%52%
👩‍🦳 Gen X56%56%56%
👩‍🦱 Millennial75%64%69%
🧑‍🦰 Gen Z69%81%75%
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 All Generations68%63%65%

Note: Percentage of respondents who said they expect their wealth will increase in 2024.

There’s also a noticeable gender difference. Men tend to be more optimistic than women, with one glaring exception.

A staggering 81% of the surveyed high net worth Gen Z women expect to make hay this year, making them the most optimistic of all the groups.

This corroborates a trend where Gen Z women were also the most optimistic in retirement planning. As CNBC reports, a combination of newer avenues of financial resources, and an openness towards advice, has given them a more optimistic attitude than their older counterparts.

Meanwhile, American Millennials are expected to become the richest generation ever as a $90 trillion asset transfer between Boomer parents and Millennial children begins to take place over the next two decades.

A huge percentage of that wealth comes in the form of property assets accumulated by generations before them. This especially includes houses, whose prices have skyrocketed over the last two decades.

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