Richest and poorest cities in America

Although the nation's economy is slowly recovering, the average income of American households continued to stagnate last year while the country's poverty rate hovered near a generation high of 15%, according to the Census Bureau. In 2012, the median household income -- the point where half earned more and half earned less -- was $51,017; when adjusted for inflation, that income was 8.3% lower than in 2007. Although many U.S. cities saw incomes flat or below years past, some areas fared better than others. The San Jose area ranked No. 1 as the city with the highest median income in the U.S., replacing Washington, D.C., according to research from 24/7 Wall Street. At the bottom is the Brownsville, Texas, area, which nudged out last year's area in that position, McAllen, Texas. Follow Shan Li on Twitter @ShanLi