News and notes from Reston (tm).

Friday, February 17, 2012

We're #2! Fairfax County the Nation's Second Richest, Just Behind Our Neighbors to the West

monopoly_man.jpegDust off your ascots and give the servants the rest of the day off, because according to some fancy "web site," we're all living "high on the hog!"

With the not-at-all provocative headline "Where the 1 Percent Live," the Main Street site calls Fairfax County the second richest county in the nation, with a median household income of $103,010 -- which is about $103,001 more than one can make, say, running a "web log." Only the particleboard nirvana to our west, Loudoun County, is more affluent, with a median household income that's nearly $20,000 higher. Seems the streets out there are paved with Tyvek gold!

Here's what the "web site" said about Fairfax:

Fairfax County is one of the largest counties in terms of population to make our list (1,081,726 residents in 2010), but it is also notable for its real estate. Fairfax is one of only two counties on our list to break the half-million mark in home values. Coming in at $507,800 for the median value of owner-occupied homes, the county truly has some spectacular real estate.

Government buffs will be excited to learn that Langley (headquarters of the CIA) is within the county line, so government employees must be making a decent amount of money these days. Also, the unemployment rate in the county has been astoundingly low historically, hitting 1.4% in 1999.
As for our neighbors to the west, who shamelessly flaunt their wealth with their fancy 3-side brick townhomes and foreclosure rituals? Let's just say the only thing we agree with is the picture that the Main Street site unironically used to illustrate the "richest county in America:"

rcounty-loudoun.jpeg
Yep, that's just about right.

11 comments:

  1. Without me in the calculation, the median income in Fairfax County would jump to $193,000. Maybe they would pay me to move to Loudoun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Coming in at $507,800 for the median value of owner-occupied homes, the county truly has some spectacular real estate."

    Yeah, if you consider a 1960's-era split-level fixer that has water problems to be spectacular!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your 9:32am post made me LOL (IRL, no less!), Anon. For the last few months, I have been trying to help my eastern Fairfax Co.-based parents sell their 1960s-era split-level fixer, with water issues finally resolved (no extra charge!). Asking price: about $500k, but to hit that magical median figure, we'll totally throw in a sweet early '90s Buick. After all, it's "spectacular".

      Delete
  3. Anonymous (09:46AM),
    Try throwing in some gift certificates to the Macaroni Grill or Jacksons. A "night on the town" might entice some buyers. And don't forget to mention RTC has free parking garages!

    ReplyDelete
  4. My big brudder wanted to see the mansion his baby sister had "foolishly" bought. "And it doesn't even have a carport, much less a garage! It doesn't even have a back yard."


    Obviously he doesn't live in the state. Neither do the folks that wrote that article . . . otherwise they would have called it the most expensive area in the country, not the richest.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Soulless, Humorless, AntFebruary 18, 2012 at 6:37 PM

    Who gives a fuck where the 1% live?

    Reston is where the Mad-Men set dwell.
    I'll be drinking a 3 martini lunch and having an affair with my secretary thank-you-very-much.


    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/post/washingtons-mid-century-modern-neighborhoods/2012/02/13/gIQADQvUBR_blog.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Loudoun County Public Schools. 'Nuff said.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Loudon County is a cheesy facsimile of Reston. We were the first to erect a fake downtown, had Macaroni Grill first, and concocted the color Russet Brown when cows were still pooping all over Loudon County!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm moving to Loudon not for the affluence but for the fun biker bar. There are no fun bars in Reston, just a lot of dreary bartenders that expect tips. I just learned tonight that the Tortilla Factory is closing it's doors. I remember when the TF was the only place to get a decent meal.

    ReplyDelete
  9. RIP Tortilla Factory, it is just so sad....

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bummer about the Tortilla Factory. If you read the leafy Herndon site, you'll see they haven't paid meal taxes in quite some time. Never a good sign.

    ReplyDelete

(If you don't see comments for some reason, click here).