By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

Residents in Shelby County are, overall, the wealthiest in the state, according to a study recently completed by a national website.

The Smartadvisormatch.com website recently compiled its list of the Alabama counties whose residents have the highest net worth, and Shelby County topped the list by a significant margin.

“Our study aims to find the places in the United States where residents have the highest net worth,” read the website. “To do this, we calculated the ratio of net worth to per capita income for every county. This number can serve as insight into how much people have saved or invested relative to their income level.”

The website also calculated each county’s debt burden as it relates to net worth, and provided an index factor calculating the overall index by taking a weighted average of the three measurement indices.

“The net worth to income index was given a weight of two and the net worth to debt index was given a weight of one,” read the website.

Shelby County came in at No. 1 on the list, posting a $34,117 per-capita income, a $51,467 per-capita net worth, a $55,723 per capita debt, a 150.9 percent net worth to income ratio and a 92.4 percent net worth to debt ratio to earn an overall index of 37.11.

Lawrence County came in at No. 2 on the list, posting a $21,911 per capita income, a $25,629 per-capita net worth, a $19,024 per capita debt, a 117 percent net worth to income ratio and a 134.7 percent net worth to debt ratio to earn an overall index of 33.69.

Cherokee County placed third, with a $22,544 per capita income, a $24,347 per-capita net worth, a $20,773 per capita debt, a 108 percent net worth to income ratio and a 117.2 percent net worth to debt ratio to earn an overall index of 29.99.

Baldwin County in south Alabama came in at No. 4, with a $28,069 per capita income, a $34,063 per-capita net worth, a $39,941 per capita debt, a 121.4 percent net worth to income ratio and a 121.4 percent net worth to debt ratio to earn an overall index of 29.85.

Washington County rounded out the top five, recording a $19.598 per capita income, a $19,382 per-capita net worth, a $14,501 per capita debt, a 98.9 percent net worth to income ratio and a 133.7 percent net worth to debt ratio to earn an overall index of 29.57.

To view the entire list, visit Smartadvisormatch.com/data/places-with-the-highest-net-worth/alabama.