July 14, 2010 10:43AM # It’s Summer in Washington and the Livin’ Is Good By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE “According to a new Regional Income Earnings Index developed by the Martin Prosperity Institute, Greater Washington, D.C. is the nation’s metropolitan region with the highest income,” [writes Richard Florida](http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-14/20-highest-earning-cities-in-america/), author of *The Rise of the Creative Class*. Washington, which produces rules, regulations, and political consulting services, ranks just ahead of San Jose and Stamford, Connecticut, where people invest their own money to produce software and allocate capital for a complex economy. Even before the Obama administration started [concentrating job creation on the federal sector](http://reason.com/blog/2010/03/31/the-private-sectors-losing-job), the [Washington Post was reporting](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901543.html) – > The three most prosperous large counties in the United States are in the Washington suburbs, according to census figures released yesterday, which show that the region has the second-highest income and the least poverty of any major metropolitan area in the country. > > > Rapidly growing Loudoun County has emerged as the wealthiest jurisdiction in the nation, with its households last year having a median income of more than $98,000. It is followed by Fairfax and Howard counties, with Montgomery County not far behind. This of course reflects partly the high level of federal pay, as Chris Edwards has been [detailing](https://www.cato.org/2009/08/26/federal-pay-response-to-the-critics/). And it also reflects the [boom in lobbying](https://www.cato.org/2009/12/23/boom-time-on-k-street/) as government comes to claim and redistribute more of the wealth produced in all those other metropolitan areas. To slightly amend a ditty [I posted](https://www.cato.org/2006/08/30/come-to-washington-and-do-well/) a few years ago, > Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys, > > > Don’t let ‘em make software and sell people trucks, > > > Make ‘em be bureaucrats and lobbyists and such. ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).