Maryland richest state in U.S.

Maryland tops the list of the wealthiest residents in the country, according to Census data released yesterday.

The median household income in the state sits at $68,080, a 1.6 percent increase from last year, based on surveys over the past 12 months.

But in Anne Arundel County, household incomes rise to a range well above that at $80,402. That's been gaining over the years with $79,160 median incomes in 2006 and $71,961 in 2005.

Joseph E. Cater, president of Market-Economics Inc. in Annapolis, attributed the increase in the county's income levels to the medical industry, which has seen expansion in Annapolis as well as Glen Burnie.

"We've seen about 6 percent growth in medical services," Dr. Cater said. "That, despite recession, they've been the primary sector that's been growing. I hate to say it, but that's a big contributing factor to this income growth we're seeing, and it sort of reverberates through the economy."

He said the Census figures are a middle estimate of incomes, and that many county residents make far less than $80,000 per year.

Despite having many wealthy residents, Anne Arundel County is not as rich as some others districts within the state. Three of the nation's 10 wealthiest counties are in Maryland. Howard County came in third with a median household income of $101,672. Calvert County ranked sixth and Montgomery County ranked 10th.

As incomes are rising, however, so is the poverty rate. Maryland's 8.3 percent poverty rate is lower than the national average, but it climbed from 7.8 percent a year earlier.

But in Anne Arundel County, poverty has declined over the past three years. In 2005, 3.6 percent of families in the county were below the poverty level, but in 2006, that number decreased to 2.7 percent and based on 2007 figures, has now dropped to 2.6 percent.

Unemployment in the state and the county is also on the rise, according to the Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. New numbers show 4.6 percent of Marylanders are unemployed, and 4.2 percent of Anne Arundel County residents are jobless.

Those figures have risen over June rates, which show Maryland's unemployment has increased by .4 percent and Anne Arundel's by .2 percent.

In the nation, median household income climbed 1.3 percent in 2007 over the previous year, rising to $50,233. This makes for the third year in a row of annual increases.

Meanwhile, the nation's poverty is also growing. In 2007 it was 12.5 percent, a statistical plateau from the year before. According to Census figures, there were 37.3 million U.S. residents in poverty up from 36.5 million in 2006.

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esauers@capitalgazette.com