Loudoun: The Richest County in the U.S.

Wealth is flowing through the suburbs of our nation's capital.

The country's fattest paychecks are in Loudoun County, Va., where families take home about $110,643 a year, according to Forbes Magazine.

That pushes the Washington, D.C., suburb to the top of the magazine's list of the 25 richest counties in the nation.

Loudoun is followed on the list by Fairfax County, Va. (2); and Howard County, Md. (3). Also among the richest are Arlington County, Va. (9); Montgomery County, Md. (10); Calvert County, Md. (13); Prince William County, Va. (14); Charles County, Md. (21); and Stafford County, Va. (12); as well as the Virginia cities of Fairfax (6) and Alexandria (23).

Now the big question: Why are those areas more well off while others continue to struggle?

The federal government generates a wealth of jobs, keeping unemployment in the D.C. metro area at a low 6.2% (the national average is still near 10% nationally).

There's something else to be proud of: 19 of the 25 richest counties in the country are on the East Coast.