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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

D.C. Workers Have America's Highest Salaries

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Washington, D.C.'s workers enjoy the highest salaries of any major U.S. city., with a median household income of $85,198.

The nation's capital fared better than most of the rest of the country in 2009, according to the Census Bureau's annual survey of income and poverty in the United States, which was released on Tuesday.

While D.C.'s income was essentially flat from 2008 to 2009, nearly every other major metro area suffered a drop in income. Of the 52 largest metro areas with more than 1 million residents, only San Antonio did not record a loss. The city's median income grew 0.5% to $47,698.

"This goes to how broad-based the downturn was," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "During other recessions, a region or two avoided the recession. This time, none did."

He attributed Washington's relative success to the fact that the federal government is a stable source of income and jobs. Plus, the city has largest percentage of college degrees -- both undergraduate and graduate.

But, it's not just well-educated government workers swelling D.C.'s income statistics; many private businesses are opening operations in the city.

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

i love the assumption that government workers are "well-educated"

how many government workers have you run into that are well educated

Anonymous said...

guess who already cashed their stimulus check?

Anonymous said...

11:05, look on the job board. Most of these jobs require a degree.

I wonder how much these numbers are pushed up by the lobbying firms stuffing pockets on both sides of the aisle.

Anonymous said...

Most government employees are such because they couldn't make it in the private sector and then want to punish the ones who are.

Anonymous said...

How many federal government workers that live and work in DC do you run into on a daily basis 1105?

Anonymous said...

11:05 Government workers need a degree? I thought they had have a hole drilled in their head and have their brains suck out in-order to qualify for the job with the Government.

Anonymous said...

Government employees are the laziest most ignorant among us.

Anonymous said...

D.C. is loaded with computer telecommuting jobs.

Anonymous said...

Why doesn't the government job race break down not mirror the country's racial balance?