The county ranks No. 2 in the nation with a median household income of $92,732, close behind Los Alamos County, N.M., and ahead of Loudoun County, Va., the Census Bureau said Tuesday. The bureau cited figures from 2003, the latest data available.

The south metro county, situated between Denver and Colorado Springs, actually lost ground in 2003, slipping from the No. 1 spot in 2002, the data show. Local officials attributed that to an increase of affordable housing, a trend they see as a positive.

"We believe more diversity in housing is good news," said Wendy Holmes, public affairs director for Douglas County. "This means more people who work here can live here."

The median household income for the nation was $43,318. Colorado's median income of $49,248 was No. 9 in the state rankings.

Statewide, Elbert County - at $66,507 - was second behind Douglas, with Broomfield County next at $63,883.

Costilla County ranked last in Colorado with a median household income of $21,640.

Other metro-area counties include Jefferson ($58,786), Boulder ($56,956), Arapahoe ($55,780), Adams ($48,658) and Denver ($40,883).

The household income gap between Douglas and Costilla counties - the richest and the poorest statewide - narrowed in the latest year.

The Census Bureau report examined all counties across the country, not just the larger ones. That explains why Douglas County, with a population of roughly 250,000 people, continues to appear so prominently on the national list.

"It's not a surprise," said David Mitchem, president of the Castle Rock Economic Development Council in Douglas County. "But it's still gratifying to see."

Officials in fast-growing Douglas County cited a strong school system and a concentration of Denver Tech Center workers earning handsome salaries as a couple of the factors behind the lofty income levels. Douglas County is home to Castle Rock and Parker in addition to Castle Pines and Highlands Ranch.

Los Alamos County recorded median household income of $93,089 in 2003. Buffalo County, S.D., languished at the other end, at $17,003.

More economic figures surfaced Tuesday, showing that Denver and the rest of the state stack up quite well with other U.S. regions when looking at average wages.

Denver County in the first quarter ranked 33rd among 322 large counties across the country, the same spot it occupied a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

The average weekly wage, according to figures released in October, was $976 in Denver County in the first quarter, up 3.8 percent.

Colorado's average weekly wage of $787 made the state No. 11 in the country, the report showed.

Colorado also came in 11th last year.

While reports about how much money Coloradans take home remain relatively positive, other figures suggest many residents may have a different view as wages barely keep pace with inflation.

The Consumer Price Index for the Denver, Boulder and Greeley area increased by 8 percent between 2000 and 2004, while the average weekly wage grew by 8.4 percent during that period, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said.

And more people live in poverty now than in 2000. That year, the poverty rate in Colorado was 8.7 percent, according to the Census Bureau and the American Community Survey. In 2004, it was 11.1 percent.

The 2.4 percent increase was the fourth-highest in the nation for that period, trailing only Mississippi (3.4), Idaho (3.1) and Nevada (2.7).

The richest and poorest

• Counties and states with the highest and lowest median incomes in 2003, as calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau:

COUNTIES

Top 10

County    Income

Los Alamos County, N.M.    $93,089
Douglas County    92,732
Loudoun County, Va.    89,890
Hunterdon County, N.J.    84,016
Fairfax County, Va.    82,481
Hamilton County, Ind.    80,691
Morris County, N.J.    79,977
Howard County, Md.    79,455
Somerset County, N.J.    77,988
Montgomery County, Md.    76,546

Bottom 10

County    Income

Wilcox County, Ala.    $19,524
Hancock County, Tenn.    19,228
Starr County, Texas    19,127
Holmes County, Miss.    19,057
Clay County, Ky.    18,724
Zavala County, Texas    18,553
McDowell County, W.Va.    18,344
Ziebach County, S.D.    17,753
Owsley County, Ky.    17,344
Buffalo County, S.D.    17,003

STATES

Top 10

State     Income

Conn. $56,409
N.J. 56,356
Md. 54,302
Mass. 52,713
N.H. 52,409
Alaska 52,391
Minn. 50,750
Va. 50,028
Colo. 49,248
Del. 48,770

Bottom 10

State     Income

Tenn. $37,925
Ky. 36,663
Ala. 36,131
Okla. 35,634
N.M. 35,091
Mont. 34,449
La. 33,792
Ark. 33,445
W.Va. 32,967
Miss. 32,397

Source: The Associated Press

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2544