According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the national median household income level ($50,502) diminished for the second year in a row, falling to 8 percent below what it was before the economic downturn in 2007. This decrease was felt across the board, even in the country’s wealthiest areas.

In America’s poorest cities, the median household income barely reaches $31,000, while some of the richer areas have an average income of up to three times as much. Richer areas tend to have more high-tech jobs, as opposed to poorer areas where the primary sources of income stem from positions in retail, service, agriculture and low-tech manufacturing.

A city data review of income, poverty rate, median home prices and health insurance statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau was used to determine the richest and poorest cities in America.

For the full list of America’s richest and poorest cities, click here.

America’s Poorest Cities

  1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas: $31,077 median household income
  2. Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas: $32,070
  3. Valdosta, Georgia: $32,446
  4. Albany, Georgia: $32,775
  5. Gadsden, Alabama: $33,313

America’s Richest Cities

  1. Washington, D.C.: $86,680 median household income
  2. San Jose, California: $84,012
  3. Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk, Connecticut: $77,289
  4. Oxnard/Thousand Oaks/Ventura, California: $74,623
  5. Trenton/Ewing, New Jersey: $73,890

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