America's richest and poorest places

[America's richest places]

America's richest and poorest places
20 richest and poorest: the most affluent counties are in the East, but western cities score well.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - There's a reason it's called the promised land.

California can count four of the top ten richest cities in America, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. In addition, eight of the top ten are located west of the Mississippi, while 9 of the 10 poorest cities in the county are located in the East.

So does that mean the West is getting richer while the East slides into decay? Not quite.

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Richest counties with a population of 250,000 or more
Rank City Median household income, 2004
1 Fairfax County, VA $83,975
2 Somerset County, NJ $84,892
3 Morris County, NJ $83,583
4 Montgomery County, MD $82,971
5 Howard County, MD $82,065
6 Nassau County, NY $78,762
7 Prince William County, VA $77,678
8 Monmouth County, NJ $77,223
9 Rockland County, NY $75,306
10 Santa Clara County, CA $74,509
11 Fairfield County, CT $73,110
12 Chester County, PA $72,288
13 Suffolk County, NY $71,956
14 McHenry County, IL $71,153
15 Bergen County, NJ $70,957
16 Norfolk County, MA $70,903
17 Lake County, IL $70,347
18 Middlesex County, NJ $70,344
19 DuPage County, IL $70,174
20 Westchester County, NY $70,095