Mecklenburg Has Some Of The Highest Wealth In North Carolina

A new study from SmartAsset lists the counties with the highest per capita wealth in North Carolina. And not to my surprise Mecklenburg County made the list. The study measured the amount of investment income being generated in each county. Also, the per capita income and the median home value in order to find the wealthiest places. You can read the full methodology at the end of this list. 

For a closer look at the top counties in North Carolina, check out the list below:

Per Capita Investment Income: $13,983

Median Home Value: $294,939

Per Capita Income: $54,514

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Moore+County,+NC/@35.2380153,-79.4912928,10.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89ab5777cbccf3dd:0x9b655a0ffb000e60!8m2!3d35.3674493!4d-79.4703885

Per Capita Investment Income: $12,677

Median Home Value: $315,042

Per Capita Income: $54,056

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Durham+County,+NC/@36.051289,-78.9973976,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89ace93cc6aed62d:0x242454152e905754!8m2!3d36.0221805!4d-78.9031279

Per Capita Investment Income: $16,121

Median Home Value: $346,584

Per Capita Income: $50,780

https://www.google.com/maps/place/New+Hanover+County,+NC/@34.1807666,-78.0500352,10.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89a9eddad5d07e0f:0x4f36d667d1a5cf1b!8m2!3d34.2154913!4d-77.8824596

Per Capita Investment Income: $12,876

Median Home Value: $358,445

Per Capita Income: $56,820

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Union+County,+NC/@35.011111,-80.6987602,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8855cd4d43af5f23:0x9ba654f3f53bc105!8m2!3d34.9338651!4d-80.543845

Per Capita Investment Income: $17,089

Median Home Value: $351,566

Per Capita Income: $53,309

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Buncombe+County,+NC/@35.6202539,-82.6686417,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x88598903df9bd1fb:0xbdb2e17dbe82d3b0!8m2!3d35.5931377!4d-82.4752757

Per Capita Investment Income: $11,257

Median Home Value: $366,612

Per Capita Income: $59,240

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dare+County,+NC/@35.6553639,-76.1295942,9.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89a5acb04eb906a9:0x1647b95f9121f9e7!8m2!3d35.6549619!4d-75.6208088

Per Capita Investment Income: $19,913

Median Home Value: $355,693

Per Capita Income: $65,244

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mecklenburg+County,+NC/@35.2579421,-81.0843444,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8856abc96599e1e5:0x19f6c12dbcdbcbed!8m2!3d35.2632655!4d-80.8543847

Per Capita Investment Income: $17,025

Median Home Value: $376,684

Per Capita Income: $66,766

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Chatham+County,+NC/@35.6958569,-79.371034,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89acbc9393c41479:0xda597fa59834ed64!8m2!3d35.7211289!4d-79.17807

Per Capita Investment Income: $16,424

Median Home Value: $411,700

Per Capita Income: $65,450

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wake+County,+NC/@35.7973409,-78.9051702,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89ac88ccfabb3d93:0xa41a40b5c635c72c!8m2!3d35.8031909!4d-78.5660852

Per Capita Investment Income: $20,885

Median Home Value: $433,009

Per Capita Income: $67,089

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Orange+County,+NC/@36.0521855,-79.2477751,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89acdd65dbd3e811:0x49b749c57542ea3e!8m2!3d36.0263022!4d-79.1096901

To identify the wealthiest counties, we compared all U.S. counties across three metrics: investment income, property value, and per capita income.

We started the analysis by calculating the Investment Index for each county by evenly weighing the Ordinary Dividends, Qualified Dividends, and Net Capital Gains. From there we calculated the Median Home Value, and the Per Capita Income for each county, and ranked them on all three metrics.

We calculated a Wealth Index for all U.S. counties based on a combination of these three metrics and ranked them accordingly to provide a holistic view of what areas of the U.S. are accumulating the most wealth.