These are the best of times, these are the worst of times
Washington and Clackamas counties continue to see some of the highest income levels and the lowest poverty rates found anywhere in three Northwest states, according to new data released from the 2010 U.S. Census.
Median household incomes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho show our two Westside counties slipping in rank to 4th and 5th place, but while having less than half of the poverty rates found in six other Oregon counties.
More importantly, poverty levels in Washington County actually fell from 10.0 to 9.7 percent in the past year, reversing an alarming nationwide trend, which found poverty levels increasing significantly in 722 of the nation’s 3,142 counties since the economic recession began in 2007.
Residents of Washington County reported median household incomes of $60,555, while Clackamas County residents brought home a median of $57,960. Household incomes on the Westside were nearly double the household incomes reported last year in Oregon’s poorest areas, Wheeler County ($31,983) and Malheur County ($32,412). Multnomah County residents reported median incomes of $48,018, while neighboring Columbia County ($50,707) were slightly higher than Yamhill County ($50,288).
Household incomes dropped in all five counties in the Portland metropolitan region between 2009 and 2010. The sharpest declines were recorded in Multnomah (-$2,586) and Clackamas (-$2,091) counties, and the most modest decline was in Washington County (-$467).
Across the Columbia River, the fields of economic opportunity were only slighter greener in Clark County where household incomes averaged $55,144, but the current poverty rate in southwest Washington mirrored the high unemployment rate endured there at 12.7 percent respectively.
Oregon’s most affluent counties were barely half the median household incomes reported in the nation’s most affluent county. Loudoun County in northern Virginia reported median household incomes topping $119,000. Loudoun County also reported the nation’s lowest poverty rates with only 3.7 percent of the population and 4.2 percent of children under the age of 18 living in poverty last year.
The nation’s poorest county was Buffalo County, South Dakota where household incomes averaged only $20,577. Nearby Ziebach county, also in south central South Dakota, claimed the dubious distinction of having the highest poverty rate in the nation with more than 50 percent of the residents living below the federal poverty index.
Here in Washington County Oregon the 9.7 percent poverty rate equates to 51,382 of our neighbors living in poverty, and 10.4 percent or 39,103 residents in Clackamas County.
Poverty levels in Multnomah County rose sharply last year to 18 percent and 24.6 percent among children less than 18 years of age. The highest poverty rates in Oregon were reported along the Idaho border in Malheur County, where 39.5 percent of the general population and 39.9 percent of children under the age of 18 are currently living below the federal poverty level.
By comparison, King, Snohomish and Thurston Counties in western Washington led all other counties in the Pacific Northwest with median household incomes topping $66,147, $63,391 and $60,672, respectively. But poverty rates were also higher to the north with 12.2 percent of the residents in King County, 10.7 percent in Snohomish County and 10.7 percent of the residents of Thurston County living below the federal poverty index.
For a comparative map of household incomes, and federal poverty levels in all 3,142 counties in the 50 U.S. states, see the U.S. Census website, and see "county" under the geography drop down menu.
The most current economic and demographic indicators