Lowest-earning counties in Connecticut
Americans on the whole were doing well financially heading into 2020, with major markers like unemployment reaching 50-year lows. The pandemic changed all that: During the second quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, our nation's real GDP fell by a whopping 31.4%, a number that hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. Since then the GDP has recovered, the first quarter of 2022 was 11% above the fourth quarter of 2019.
While GDP has recovered since the height of the pandemic, wage growth has not kept pace with inflation. In 2021 average hourly wages increased 4.7% while there was 7% inflation, meaning the worker's purchasing power dropped by 2.4%.
Where you live can make a big impact on your financial situation. The highest earning county in the U.S. earns $147,111, while the lowest earns $22,292. Stacker compiled a list of the lowest-earning counties in Connecticut using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the Census' 2020 5-year estimate median household income.
#8. Fairfield County
--- 22.1% above state average, 50.1% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 49.0%
--- #56 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.0%
--- #3,086 highest among all counties nationwide
#7. Tolland County
--- 10.0% above state average, 35.1% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 43.8%
--- #108 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.4%
--- #3,036 highest among all counties nationwide
#6. Middlesex County
--- 6.3% above state average, 30.6% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 42.3%
--- #130 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.7%
--- #3,011 highest among all counties nationwide
#5. Litchfield County
--- 2.2% above state average, 25.5% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 40.5%
--- #162 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.3%
--- #2,965 highest among all counties nationwide
#4. Hartford County
--- 4.5% below state average, 17.3% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 37.9%
--- #219 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.4%
--- #2,904 highest among all counties nationwide
#3. New London County
--- 5.0% below state average, 16.7% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 37.1%
--- #232 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.1%
--- #2,893 highest among all counties nationwide
#2. New Haven County
--- 10.6% below state average, 9.8% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 35.2%
--- #276 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.8%
--- #2,800 highest among all counties nationwide
#1. Windham County
--- 15.6% below state average, 3.6% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 30.1%
--- #480 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.9%
--- #2,668 highest among all counties nationwide
