Forbes ranks Goochland as the 16th-richest county

Goochland County and seven other Virginia localities are among the wealthiest counties in the U.S., according to Forbes magazine.

The magazine's annual list of America's Richest Counties -- based on median income -- was released last week, placing Loudoun and Fairfax counties in the top two spots, respectively. Goochland ranked 16th.

The rakings are based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2008. Virginia had the strongest showing of any state, with eight localities earning spots. All except Goochland are located in Northern Virginia.

The Forbes list found rural Goochland, with a population of 20,494, to have a median household income (with half making more and half making less) of $88,552.

Loudoun, with a population of 277,433, has a median income of $110,643, and with just more than 1 million residents, Fairfax's is $106,785.

The counties of Arlington, Stafford and Prince William were on the list, as were the cities of Alexandria and Fairfax, both of which are categorized as county equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last year, Goochland residents were found to have the highest average income of any county in the United States, according to a study from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

That ranking, which looked at tax data, found the average adjusted gross income in the rural county to be $137,045.

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