D.C. Area Income at Top of Urban List: Income Ranks Fifth in Nation In D.C. Area
The Washington metropolitan area had the highest per capita income of all the nation's urban areas in 1977, according to a survey by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce.</br></br>But the D.C. area slipped a couple of notches from the previous year in the overall ranking of 268 metropolitan areas, surveyed.</br></br>Washington was fifth with a per capita income of $9,306, 32 percent above the national average of $7,494. The figure represents an increase of 9.21 percent over the $8,521 for 1976 when the area ranked third.</br></br>Once again, Anchorage, Alaska, had the highest per capita income in the nation with $11,430 followed by Bridgeport - Stamford - Norwalk - Danbury, Conn. ($9,676), Reno, Nev. ($9,-368) and Midland, Texas ($9,307). The continued strong showing by Anchorage reflects the economic impact of both the Alaska pipeline and the areaÛªs higher cost of living, according to a Commerce Department spokesman.</br></br>The percentage increase in per capita income from 1976 to 1977 was greater than the 5.7 percent rise in the cost of living in all but three metropolitan areas. The Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn. area registered the largest