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BY KAFIA HOSH
The pockets of Stafford County residents are getting deeper.
Stafford is among the nation's top 20 communities with the highest median household incomes, according to figures released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau looked at 795 counties and cities with populations of 65,000 or more in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Stafford ranked 11th in the nation, and fourth in the state, just after Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington counties. The county's median household income was $85,014 last year, up from $78,675 in 2005.
Rising incomes can be traced to Stafford's thriving business sector. The county reported that the number of new jobs increased by 21 percent between 2001 and 2006, according to economic estimates.
"A lot of those jobs are professional jobs, with good, sustaining wages," said Tim Baroody, Stafford's economic development director.
Still, a large part of the county's work force "continue to commute north for better paying jobs," he said.
But that could change. The expansion of the Quantico Marine Corps Base is bringing a slew of high-paying employers.
Defense contractors occupy the bulk of office space developed by the Garrett Companies in Stafford.
"We like to go where the numbers are, both in terms of growth and household income," said Chris Waller, the company's vice president of acquisitions. "We're just looking at bringing high caliber space to Stafford and the jobs that go with it."
Higher-paid residents, flush with disposable cash, are fueling commercial growth in the county.
The Fredericksburg Regional Alliance uses Stafford's ascending household incomes to lure businesses to the region.
The rising income "presents a very strong case for the business climate and for the purchasing power of many of our residents," said Gene Bailey, president of economic development group. "That purchasing power is quickly understood by retail businesses, restaurants and other consumer-related businesses looking at our area."
Like most developers, the Silver Cos. gives retailers a detailed report of residents' income levels, education and spending habits.
"You pass it on to tenants and that's how you get them to start their interest," said Jud Honaker, Silver's president of commercial development.
For the first time in Stafford's history, luxury retailers are taking notice of rising household incomes.
The Aquia Towne Center on U.S. 1 is being redeveloped to include higher-end boutiques, restaurants and other outlets.
Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, a Michigan-based developer, owns and manages the center. The company analyzed Stafford's buying power before it decided to bring in high-end retailers, said Edward Wizner, Ramco-Gershenson's vice president of redevelopment.
"The incomes here are very high, and they're getting higher," he said. "We'd like to have restaurants that don't exist now in the county, that you can see, as an example, up in Fairfax Corner."
Stafford's neighborhoods also are changing as more affluent residents move in to bigger homes.
Augustine Homes sells single-family dwellings worth up to $900,000.
"The majority of our sales are coming from local folks because of the way the area has grown," said Keith Shanebrook, president of the local home builder. "It is attracting more businesses, and people are relocating their families here."
But growth in the county has also widened Augustine's customer demographic, which now includes many first-time home buyers.
Fifteen years ago "we only built a 3,500-square-foot house," Shanebrook said. "Now we're starting at 1,800-square feet."
Baroody predicts locally generated wealth in Stafford's future.
The incomes will continue to rise, which "also demonstrates progress for the county, in producing better jobs," he said.
Kafia Hosh: 540/735-1977