Bay Area Tops State Again in Median Income

By Jenny Pisillo, San Francisco Chronicle
03.0711

From It's expensive to live in the Bay Area so it's a good thing that we lead the state in terms of median income. Now that income tax paying time is around the corner, the California Franchise Tax Board last week released income statistics based on the tax returns filed for 2009. The residents of a handful of Bay Area counties have the highest incomes of all Californians, and have been the highest wage earners for a long time now.

The four Bay Area counties of Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Clara have led California for 38 years in reported highest median incomes.

The Franchise Tax Board defines the "median income" as the midpoint of all tax returns filed. Marin County, came in at the top spot again, with the highest median income of $48, 172. This was followed by San Mateo, Santa Clara and then Contra Costa counties. San Francisco was edged out by El Dorado County, preventing a Bay Area monopoly for the top five spots. Alameda County, was #8 with a median income of $41,964.

Despite a good showing by the Bay Area, the effects of the faltering economy have taken its toll and we are making less compared with past years. Median income across the state is 5% below 2008 figures. In Marin County, which has held the top spot for quite some time, the median income dipped below $50,000 for the first time since 2005, thanks to a downward trend starting in 2007.

Imperial County, in the state's southeastern corner, bordering San Diego County and Mexico had the lowest median income of all 58 state counties. With a median income of $22, 841, it just about half of the median incomes of the top four Bay Area counties. The bottom 10 spots are mainly counties in the state's Central Valley, where unemployment and housing have really been hit hard.