JACKSON, Wyo. — For the fourth time in six years, Teton County (search) — gateway to Yellowstone National Park and home to the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney — is the wealthiest in America.
Teton's average adjusted household gross income in 2002, the latest year for which data is available, was $107,694, or 2 percent higher than runner-up Fairfield County, Conn., according to the Internal Revenue Service (search).
Other high-income counties were Marin, Calif., Somerset, N.J., and Morris, N.J. In Colorado, Clear Creek and Douglas counties ranked sixth and seventh, respectively.
Rounding out the top 10 were Hunterdon, N.J., Westchester, N.Y., and New York, N.Y.
Since 1997, Teton County's per-return income has ranked either first or second among the nation's 3,140 counties. The county also was tops in per-capita income in 2002, the IRS said.
Many wealthy people move to Jackson for its myriad outdoor activities and culture, real estate broker Bob Graham said.
"You can go through the long list of deep powder, good golf, world-class fly fishing, the museum, the symphony," he said.
The list is not paramount, though.
"It's second only to the enormous tax advantage the state of Wyoming offers," Graham said.
Wyoming has no personal or corporate income tax and relatively low property taxes thanks to revenue from mining.
Others may delight in the cultural amenities of New York, the yachts of Marin County (search) or the Hollywood glitterati of Aspen (search), Graham said, "but it's going to cost you dearly."
Jackson Hole (search) offers other aspects, such as isolation.
"We're not near a large city," he said. "That eliminates a lot of the weekend second homes."
Cheney owns a refuge in the valley, as does World Bank President James Wolfensohn.
People of means, "like everybody else, tend to cluster," Graham said.
Although Teton County returned to the top, its total and average incomes fell from earlier levels, echoing a national trend.
Per-tax return income fell 9 percent from 2001's figure of $117,729, and total income was reported at $992 million, a 6 percent drop from 2000's record $1.06 billion.
The numbers help explain the unique aspects of Jackson Hole, from its expensive housing to its philanthropy.
"We're always ranked in the top three, often on top, in terms of our giving per capita," Graham said. "When you talk about a community of 18,000 that can raise in excess of $5 million on a Saturday morning, it's extraordinary."
