The nation's capital is now in first place in household earning, taking Silicon Valley's top spot. | REUTERS Census: D.C. is new wealthiest area

Washington, D.C., is now the country’s wealthiest metro area, replacing Silicon Valley in the top slot, according to new data from the Census Bureau.


The average household income for residents of the Washington metro area was $84,523 in 2010, when the nation’s median household income was $50,046, Bloomberg reported in an analysis of census data.



According to the new data, — Bloomberg reports that San Jose had an average income of $83,944 in 2010, dropping from $84,483 in 2009. The average household income for Washington last year also fell from 2009, when the average was $85,168.

Federal workers last year had average total compensation of $126,369, representing an increase from $122,697 in 2009. As of June, the Washington metro area had 170,467 federal employees, according to the analysis.

The Washington metro area has about 5.6 million residents with a total household income of about $221.4 billion; the San Jose area population is about 1.8 million, and has a total income of $67 billion, Bloomberg also reported.