IncomeBy County

Data Methodology & Editorial Standards

How we source, process, and present county-level income data across the United States.

Data Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey

All income and employment data on IncomeByCounty.com comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), the most comprehensive source of county-level socioeconomic data in the United States. The ACS is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually, collecting detailed information on income, employment, education, housing, and demographics.

We use the ACS 5-Year Estimates (2019–2023), which aggregate five years of survey responses. Five-year estimates are the most reliable for county-level analysis because they provide statistically significant data even for smaller counties where 1-year estimates would have unacceptably large margins of error.

The ACS is a public dataset funded by US taxpayers and made available through the Census Bureau's API at data.census.gov.

Income Metrics We Report

IncomeByCounty presents several distinct income and employment measures for each county. Each metric captures a different dimension of local economic conditions:

Median Household Income

ACS Table B19013. The income level at which exactly half of households in a county earn more and half earn less. This is the single most commonly cited income statistic because it is not skewed by extremely high or low earners the way an average would be. A county with a median household income of $65,000 means that a typical household in that county earns around $65,000 per year.

Per Capita Income

ACS Table B19301. Total personal income in a county divided by its total population. Per capita income is useful for comparing areas with different household sizes. A county where many people live alone will have different household income dynamics than one with larger families, but per capita income controls for that difference.

Income Distribution

ACS Table B19001. The number and percentage of households falling into each income bracket (e.g., under $25,000, $25,000–$49,999, $50,000–$74,999, and so on up to $200,000+). This breakdown reveals whether a county's income is concentrated in a narrow range or spread broadly, and highlights the share of high-income and low-income households.

Poverty Rate

ACS Table B17001. The percentage of individuals in a county whose income falls below the federal poverty line. The poverty threshold varies by household size and composition and is set annually by the Census Bureau. This metric indicates the extent of economic hardship within each county.

Employment and Labor Force Data

ACS Table B23025. Employment status for the civilian population aged 16 and over, including the number employed, unemployed, and not in the labor force. We derive the employment rate and labor force participation rate from this table to show how actively residents participate in the workforce.

How County Income Rankings Are Calculated

Counties are ranked within their state and nationally by median household income. The ranking methodology is straightforward:

  1. We collect the median household income figure (ACS Table B19013) for each of the 3,100+ counties and county-equivalents in our dataset.
  2. Counties are sorted in descending order by median household income.
  3. Each county receives a national rank (1 = highest median income county in the US) and a state rank (1 = highest median income county within its state).
  4. Counties where the Census Bureau suppresses the estimate due to insufficient sample size are excluded from rankings but are still listed with available data.

The same ranking approach is applied to per capita income rankings. When we describe a county as “high-income” or “low-income,” it is relative to national or state medians, not an editorial judgment.

Geographic Coverage

IncomeByCounty covers 3,100+ counties and county-equivalents across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. County-equivalents include Louisiana parishes, Alaska boroughs and census areas, and independent cities in states like Virginia. We use FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) codes as the unique identifier for each county, ensuring consistent matching across data sources.

Coverage is limited to geographies for which the Census Bureau publishes ACS 5-Year Estimates. A small number of very low-population areas may have suppressed or missing data where the Census Bureau determines the sample size is insufficient for reliable estimates.

Data Freshness and Update Schedule

The ACS 5-Year Estimates are released annually by the Census Bureau, typically in December. Our current data reflects the 2019–2023 vintage, released by the Census Bureau in December 2024. We update our dataset when each new ACS release becomes available.

Because 5-year estimates aggregate data over a multi-year window, they represent conditions averaged across those years rather than a single-year snapshot. This is a trade-off: the estimates are more statistically stable but may lag behind rapidly changing conditions in fast-growing or fast-declining areas.

AI-Generated Content Disclosure

IncomeByCounty uses artificial intelligence to generate narrative descriptions on county and state pages. These AI-generated narratives are written by large language models (specifically, Anthropic's Claude) using structured Census ACS data as input.

The AI does not fabricate data. Every statistic referenced in a narrative (median income figures, rankings, percentages) comes directly from the Census ACS dataset described above. The AI's role is to convert structured data into readable prose that contextualizes each county's income profile relative to state and national benchmarks.

AI-generated narratives are reviewed for accuracy and consistency. However, because they are produced programmatically across thousands of counties, individual narratives are not manually edited. If you identify an inaccuracy in any narrative, please contact us so we can investigate and correct it.

Limitations and Disclaimers

  • Margins of error: All ACS estimates carry margins of error. Smaller counties generally have larger margins. We display point estimates for clarity but acknowledge that true values may differ within the Census Bureau's stated confidence intervals.
  • Not financial advice: IncomeByCounty is an informational resource. The data should not be used as the sole basis for financial, legal, relocation, or investment decisions.
  • Point-in-time data: Income figures reflect conditions during the survey period (2019–2023) and may not reflect current conditions, especially in areas experiencing rapid economic changes.
  • Cost-of-living context: Income figures alone do not capture purchasing power. A county with high nominal income may also have high housing costs. For a fuller picture, see our sister site CostByCounty.com.

Questions or Corrections

If you have questions about our methodology or believe you have found an error, please contact us. We take data accuracy seriously and will investigate any reported issues promptly.