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Moving there in a few weeks and I always read about "median incomes" in Washington DC being high, yet when it comes to high net worth people (those with $1mm+ in cash) it's not that much ahead of Philadlphia. They mostly seem to be in NYC and the SF Bay Area. Even on a per capita basis it's much below NYC and SF.
What gives? Is it not a place for wealth creation? No billionaires either.
Because you don't get rich working for the government. I spent 7 years in DC and DC is very middle class but it is not rich. Stable, lots of two income households which also alters statistics. People in general are very middle class so it doesn't throw everything off as with other large cities near ports that attract lots of immigrants.
DC can be great, the cost of living is low and the pay is pretty good so life is comfortable.
DC wealth is a nice $1MM home in Georgetown or McLean, private schools, two cars. Rich in NYC is a $20MM + penthouse and a helicopter and a mansion in the Hamptons and a jet.
It's a very important place but it will never have the riches of somewhere like NYC or London or Silicon Valley.
The most expensive home sold last year in DC was $8,000,000 house and the most expensive home sold in NYC last year was an apartment that sold for $95,000,000.
Because you don't get rich working for the government. I spent 7 years in DC and DC is very middle class but it is not rich. Stable, lots of two income households which also alters statistics. People in general are very middle class so it doesn't throw everything off as with other large cities near ports that attract lots of immigrants.
DC can be great, the cost of living is low and the pay is pretty good so life is comfortable.
DC wealth is a nice $1MM home in Georgetown or McLean, private schools, two cars. Rich in NYC is a $20MM + penthouse and a helicopter and a mansion in the Hamptons and a jet.
It's a very important place but it will never have the riches of somewhere like NYC or London or Silicon Valley.
The most expensive home sold last year in DC was $8,000,000 house and the most expensive home sold in NYC last year was an apartment that sold for $95,000,000.
Ha, I know right. I've lived in the Northeast my entire life, but NYC real estate still blows my mind.
That's insane....I know the DC area real estate market is one if the most expensive in the country but we look like child's play in comparison to the NYC market...Unbelievable.
Unless I'm looking at the map incorrectly, 2.9% of adults in DC are high net worth. This rate is higher than all other cities other than NYC, San Francisco and San Jose (which is the highest). This totally jibes with what I hunk would happen. The highest places are Silicon Valley and the financial capital of the world. Then it's DC. I may have figured LA would have a higher rate, but they don't. And DC is significantly above Philly (1.8%).
Are those stats just factoring in the city itself, or the greater metro DC area? I have a hunch that the wealthiest folks in the area are living out in the suburbs (e.g. Chevy Case, Great Falls, McLean etc.)
Because you don't get rich working for the government. I spent 7 years in DC and DC is very middle class but it is not rich. Stable, lots of two income households which also alters statistics. People in general are very middle class so it doesn't throw everything off as with other large cities near ports that attract lots of immigrants.
DC can be great, the cost of living is low and the pay is pretty good so life is comfortable.
DC wealth is a nice $1MM home in Georgetown or McLean, private schools, two cars. Rich in NYC is a $20MM + penthouse and a helicopter and a mansion in the Hamptons and a jet.
It's a very important place but it will never have the riches of somewhere like NYC or London or Silicon Valley.
The most expensive home sold last year in DC was $8,000,000 house and the most expensive home sold in NYC last year was an apartment that sold for $95,000,000.
Hah. None of the first claims are true.
It must have been a long time since this person lived here since cost of living is now one of the highest in the country.
Also, there's not a large middle class so much as a large upper middle class (6 figure salaries are plentiful) but very fee super wealthy (7+ figure incomes).
Metro DC's wealth doesn't come from a handful of super rich and a large population of mediocre or less incomes like you find in the Bay area or NYC, but rather a broad distribution of moderately wealthy because that's how industries work around here.
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