Wealthiest Black Counties in America

April 2022

Charles County welcome sign (credit: Ken Lund)

Black counties with the highest median household income are nearly all found outside Washington, DC and Atlanta, GA, which are widely considered America's black meccas. Major HBCUs, and high paying jobs in government and at Fortune 500 companies continue to attract Black students, professionals and middle class families, fueling the growth of the DC and Atlanta metro areas.

For years, Prince George's County, MD was considered the wealthiest Black county, but as of the latest census, Charles County, MD tops the list. Located 18 miles south of DC, Charles County's brisk growth the past few decades has been led by middle-class Black families moving from PG County and DC in search of larger homes at a lower cost compared to other DC-area counties. The influx of new residents has catapulted the exurban county's median household income past $100,000, making it the 4th richest county in Maryland, the richest state in the U.S.

Almost half of Charles County residents live in Waldorf and its St. Charles master planned community, which ignited the county's sprawl in the early 1980s. Despite the growth, most residents are still employed outside the county and have the longest commutes in America according to a Bloomberg analysis of Census data.

	County	Median Household Income	Poverty Rate	Population	Percentage Black
1.	Charles County, MD	$103,678	7.4%	168,698	50.1%
2.	Washington, DC	$90,842	15.5%	670,050	46%
3.	Prince George's County, MD	$86,994	9.5%	955,306	64.4%
4.	Fulton County, GA	$72,741	13%	1,065,334	44.5%
5.	Henry County, GA	$71,110	8.7%	245,235	48.4%
6.	Douglas County, GA	$67,651	11.5%	145,814	49.7%
7.	DeKalb County, GA	$65,116	15.8%	757,718	54.8%
	National Average	$64,994	11.4%	331,893,745	13.4%
8.	Essex County, NJ	$63,959	14.3%	854,917	41.9%
9.	Rockdale County, GA	$62,505	12.7%	94,082	58.1%
10.	Charles City County, VA	$60,096	9.9%	6,594	44.4%

Median household income figures and poverty rates represent the latest (2020) US Census Bureau results, and population figures are based on 2021 Census estimates. Black counties are defined as counties in the U.S. where Black people represent at least a plurality.