Collin County Cities among Wealthiest
Friday, February 26, 2010
Collin County cities among wealthiest
By Kim Nguyen, knguyen@acnpapers.com
A new report puts Frisco, Allen, Plano and McKinney among the top 100 wealthiest cities in the country.
Using census data from 2008 Portfolio.com and Bizjournals, compared cities, incorporated towns and unincorporated urban areas with populations of more than 75,000.
A six-part formula was used to determine the relative affluence – or wealth score – of each city. The factors include per-capita income, median household income, percentage of households with annual incomes of $200,000 or more, the upper 20 percent threshold for household income, median home value and the upper-25 percent threshold for home value.
Adjustments were made for the median home value and upper-25 percent threshold for home value to dampen the impact of any housing bubbles that might have overinflated property values in upper-income communities.
Places with high income levels and large inventories of expensive homes, including the four cornerstone cities in Collin County, scored higher.
Frisco scored a wealth score of 17.379 and earned the 27th spot on the list of most affluent American cities. With a median household income of nearly $104,000, Frisco was the first Texas city ranked.
Plano was 42nd overall with a wealth score of 10.492 and a median household income of $85,003. Allen ranked 75th with a wealth score of 5.579 and a median household income of $88,199 and McKinney came in at 85th with a wealth score of 4.796 and a median household income of $82,403.
Richardson and Carrollton were the only other North Texas cities on the list with positive wealth scores at 110th and 134th, respectively.
Plano Mayor Phil Dyer said the survey results not only highlight Plano, but the entire Collin County area as one that attracts well-educated and successful people.
“It’s amazing for one area to have so many cities rank highly on this survey,” he said. “It goes to show that the whole area is committed to providing its residents with the opportunity to live the American Dream.”
Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Lewisville, Fort Worth, Denton, Garland and Grand Prairie were all also ranked, but scored negative wealth scores.
