2021 Wealthiest Counties (2013, house prices, school)
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It's a moot point to talk about the role of the federal government and whether it's too large and consuming too many resources, because it is what it is.
But I would also say D.C. is more an upper middle-class town than a middle-class town. D.C. middle-class lifestyle means your household is making 150k+ (but more likely 200k+) ,you travel internationally frequently, have a cottage somewhere in the scenic countryside, go to wine festivals, spend $200 on a restaurant tab without giving it a 2nd thought etc.
The large, large presence of people like that is what makes D.C. area counties come up on these lists, even if there's not that many of the kind of people who have private jets, 150 ft yachts etc.
Of course in large parts of this country even that upper middle class lifestyle is reserved for a pretty small % of the population, so there's definitely large areas in the DMV that feel like 'enclaves of the fortunate'.
It's a moot point to talk about the role of the federal government and whether it's too large and consuming too many resources, because it is what it is.
But I would also say D.C. is more an upper middle-class town than a middle-class town. D.C. middle-class lifestyle means your household is making 150k+ (but more likely 200k+) ,you travel internationally frequently, have a cottage somewhere in the scenic countryside, go to wine festivals, spend $200 on a restaurant tab without giving it a 2nd thought etc.
The large, large presence of people like that is what makes D.C. area counties come up on these lists, even if there's not that many of the kind of people who have private jets, 150 ft yachts etc.
Of course in large parts of this country even that upper middle class lifestyle is reserved for a pretty small % of the population, so there's definitely large areas in the DMV that feel like 'enclaves of the fortunate'.
I remember when I lived Tysons, one of my roommates had an interview with a large defense contractor and was sad when they finally made him an offer it was "only" $120k. A lot of people in DC live in a massive bubble.
Also, people do realize that California actually has the largest concentration of federal government employees, right?
I remember when I lived Tysons, one of my roommates had an interview with a large defense contractor and was sad when they finally made him an offer it was "only" $120k. A lot of people in DC live in a massive bubble.
Also, people do realize that California actually has the largest concentration of federal government employees, right?
LOL ONLY 120k? How can you survive?
Jokes aside, though, $120k is seriously not much in DMV consider the relative high cost of living. Ok back when you lived in Tysons it may be quite a bit, but nowaday? Not so much .
But even then, even adding in Baltimore you're talking about maybe 330k total. In DC Metro Federal Employees are <10% of TOTAL workforce (Numbers are from 2018 but federal employment number haven't changed much).
In another word, before that mike0421 guy continues to yap about how "federal employee suck blah blah blah" they're nowhere even near a majority of the workforce in the areas where the federal govt is literally located.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit
It's a moot point to talk about the role of the federal government and whether it's too large and consuming too many resources, because it is what it is.
But I would also say D.C. is more an upper middle-class town than a middle-class town. D.C. middle-class lifestyle means your household is making 150k+ (but more likely 200k+) ,you travel internationally frequently, have a cottage somewhere in the scenic countryside, go to wine festivals, spend $200 on a restaurant tab without giving it a 2nd thought etc.
The large, large presence of people like that is what makes D.C. area counties come up on these lists, even if there's not that many of the kind of people who have private jets, 150 ft yachts etc.
Of course in large parts of this country even that upper middle class lifestyle is reserved for a pretty small % of the population, so there's definitely large areas in the DMV that feel like 'enclaves of the fortunate'.
I said it somewhere else before - but DMV is basically people that drives Mercedes/Audi/BMW/Lexus (and you do see a ton of them), but not wealthy to the point where they can splurge on supercars or the likes of Lamborghinis/Ferraris. You see way more of the latter in places like NYC, LA, and Miami.
I remember when I lived Tysons, one of my roommates had an interview with a large defense contractor and was sad when they finally made him an offer it was "only" $120k. A lot of people in DC live in a massive bubble.
Also, people do realize that California actually has the largest concentration of federal government employees, right?
DC has the largest concentration, California has the most.
But it’s not just Federal workers. Like all the defense contractors are now based in DC/NOVA.
It’s the media, contractors, political parties, NGOs etc.
The Washington Post is as big as is is entirely because of the Government. The DNC and RNC are in DC for a reason, NBC, BBC has news bureaus in DC for a reason. It’s hospitality industry is built around the Government. Etc.
You know Ford wasn’t the only employer in Detroit right, 9% is a huge portion.
Rochester NY was largely considered a company town and Kodak peaked out at about 10% of direct employment
Oops - I was looking at old data. I stand corrected.
Yes, there is a whole apparatus of jobs that radiate from the government but they're still private sector jobs. NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, etc. all have large offices in DC but that's expected since they have to have reporters to cover the president, senators, etc. I guess I'm proving the point that a lot of the wealth and jobs here comes from the government lol but I guess I would stipulate that the economy in DC is much more diverse today than it was ten years ago. There's been an effort to attract more tech companies and companies that aren't tied to the government especially after the last administration tried to move several agencies out of DC (unsuccessfully) so it'll be interesting to see once HQ2 with Amazon is finished and other tech companies like Facebook continue to build their presence in DC how much that will change the economy.
Oops - I was looking at old data. I stand corrected.
Yes, there is a whole apparatus of jobs that radiate from the government but they're still private sector jobs. NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, etc. all have large offices in DC but that's expected since they have to have reporters to cover the president, senators, etc. I guess I'm proving the point that a lot of the wealth and jobs here comes from the government lol but I guess I would stipulate that the economy in DC is much more diverse today than it was ten years ago. There's been an effort to attract more tech companies and companies that aren't tied to the government especially after the last administration tried to move several agencies out of DC (unsuccessfully) so it'll be interesting to see once HQ2 with Amazon is finished and other tech companies like Facebook continue to build their presence in DC how much that will change the economy.
TBH Tech especially in terms of IT/Datacenters alongside things like cybersecurity/data analytics are already strong in the region (especially NoVA for the former, the latter is more spread out thanks to NSA being further north in Fort Meade). It doesn't have the crazy investment money that Silicon Valley has, but in terms of tech infrastructure DMV is definitely strong in that area...and it shows with web companies increasing presence in the region.
There is always the defense industry of course (aka military-industrial complex if you want to call it that...keeps me employed though). Biotech/Life Science/Pharma also has a strong presence as FDA and NIH (and to lesser extent, NIST) is there (and not surprisingly, most of those life science jobs are in MoCo).
The bottom line is that, yes, the economy mainly grew out of govt but even those "contractors" are involves in many different sectors which diversify the economy somewhat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by btownboss4
It’s hospitality industry is built around the Government. Etc.
Have to disagree - DC itself is a popular tourist destination and the hospitality industry is built upon that also. Sure, all those monuments and museums won't be there if not for the fact that DC is the capital, but it is what it is...
But it’s not just Federal workers. Like all the defense contractors are now based in DC/NOVA.
Yes, and much of that came at a tremendous loss to Southern California. I personally believe the loss of SoCal's aerospace industry was the single biggest factor to the entire region falling behind as far as income levels and prosperity.
However, the state's penchant for reinvention has really led to an Electric Car revolution in the state, which has become the epicenter of EV R&D, and Southern California has become a leader in that field, which I hope we can hold on to, despite whatever efforts our state legislature make to undermine it, because they always do.
Yes, and much of that came at a tremendous loss to Southern California. I personally believe the loss of SoCal's aerospace industry was the single biggest factor to the entire region falling behind as far as income levels and prosperity.
However, the state's penchant for reinvention has really led to an Electric Car revolution in the state, which has become the epicenter of EV R&D, and Southern California has become a leader in that field, which I hope we can hold on to, despite whatever efforts our state legislature make to undermine it, because they always do.
(It's old from 2017 but numbers didn't change much). In terms of Aerospace Industry itself SoCal remain among the top (after Seattle...but Boeing is right there), although DFW had been gaining. There's not exactly a lot of true aerospace related job in the DMV anyway.
What hurt aerospace industry the most was the drop in demand after the end of Cold War anyway. And if you want to say a place that "took those aerospace job" that would be the southeastern states (the like of AL/GA/SC), not DMV.
Now, corporate side of the big defense contractors is a different story, as is the defense contractor's jump into the things related to information science or cybersecurity etc. - now those are things that definitely have a concentration in the DMV.
SoCal at the end of the day is way too diverse economically for one industry to fully make a huge effect. If you look at county level it's just unfair as SoCal's county just have a lot more people which pulls the median more towards national median. I mean, there are more people in LA County alone than the entire state of Maryland or the entire state of Virginia.
TBH Tech especially in terms of IT/Datacenters alongside things like cybersecurity/data analytics are already strong in the region (especially NoVA for the former, the latter is more spread out thanks to NSA being further north in Fort Meade). It doesn't have the crazy investment money that Silicon Valley has, but in terms of tech infrastructure DMV is definitely strong in that area...and it shows with web companies increasing presence in the region.
There is always the defense industry of course (aka military-industrial complex if you want to call it that...keeps me employed though). Biotech/Life Science/Pharma also has a strong presence as FDA and NIH (and to lesser extent, NIST) is there (and not surprisingly, most of those life science jobs are in MoCo).
The bottom line is that, yes, the economy mainly grew out of govt but even those "contractors" are involves in many different sectors which diversify the economy somewhat.
Have to disagree - DC itself is a popular tourist destination and the hospitality industry is built upon that also. Sure, all those monuments and museums won't be there if not for the fact that DC is the capital, but it is what it is...
Yeah DC has massive tourism numbers compared to like Atlanta or Dallas and it’s due to its status as a national capital and all the “national X” things there. Like the Smithsonian is publicly funded, the National mall and its monuments are run by the National Park Service etc.
Not to mention there is a big protest there every like two week that’s draws people in. Most businesses travelers are meeting with the government/NGOs/etc.
I guess I grew up in an area that was more impoverished than I thought because where I grew up the ones driving BMW's and Mercedes-Benzes were the upper-middle-class/professional class---the ones who had "made it" in life. Back in Northern Virginia people treated those like typical/normal "middle-class" cars, as they were ubiquitous when I lived there. I agree that Northern Virginia is in its own little bubble where $20 for a cocktail or taking an annual vacation to Maui or driving a Mercedes-Benz GLC is "normal/middle-class" vs. being considered "upper-middle-class" in most other areas of the country.
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