NH Counties Show Big Gap Between Rich And Poor

New Hampshire is a land of contrast in many ways, but particularly where wealth is concerned. The median income in its richest county, Rockingham, is nearly twice that of its poorest county, Coos, according to a new report.

The typical household in Rockingham County earns about $85,619 a year, according to a report published Wednesday by the financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St. That compares to the statewide median of $71,305. The poverty rate is just 4.8 percent and unemployment 2.3 percent.

But in rural Coos County, hugging the Canadian border, median income is just $45,386, the report said. And while unemployment is low here, too, at just 2.4 percent, the poverty rate is much higher, at 13.3 percent, about three times Rockingham County's rate.

Across the country, the typical household in the wealthiest counties earned between $58,000 and $130,000 a year, with Loudoun County, Virginia, coming in as the richest county in America. The authors said Loudoun’s proximity to Washington, D.C., and access to “countless jobs” help bolster its strong unemployment rate of just 2.3 percent, well below the national rate of 3.8 percent. Moreover, many of those jobs are high-skilled — and high-paying.

About 60 percent of adults in Loudoun County have earned at least a bachelor’s degree — about twice as many as the country overall — and the typical household earns about $130,000 a year, the highest income of any county by more than $12,000.

Other counties in the six-figure income club include Howard County, Maryland ($115,576); Douglas County, Colorado ($111,154); Hunterdon County, New Jersey ($110,969); Los Alamos County, New Mexico ($110,190); Santa Clara County, California ($106,761); Nassau County,

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