Sometimes settling down in a city is a lifetime decision. It is not enough to select the correct career or the ideal employer if you want to make a lot of money. You must also locate yourself in the appropriate city.
Here I gathered the fifteen richest cities by median household income determined by the most recent government census data. Check the list below if you are looking for the richest cities in the US.
1. Southlake, TX
Southlake, which is located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, had an estimated population of 31,292 people as of the year 2019, with 69.7 percent of individuals having earned at least a bachelor’s degree. The close proximity of Southlake to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which opened in the 1970s and fueled the area’s explosive growth throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, is a major contributor to the city’s current high standard of living.
2. Los Altos, CA
The neighborhood of Los Altos, whose name translates to “The Heights” in Spanish, can be found on the western edge of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area. With a population of just over 30,500 people, the majority of whom are commuters, Los Altos is the fourth most educated city in the United States.
The fact that 84.2 percent of the adult population has earned at least a bachelor’s degree places it in that ranking. Los Altos is pleased to have the 24th lowest poverty rate of 1,775 communities, with a mere 2.8 percent. This is despite the fact that it is located just outside of San Francisco, which is a city that is known for its homeless population.
3. University Park, TX
The most notable feature of University Park is that it is the location of Southern Methodist University, a prestigious private institution located in the Dallas neighborhood of University Park. It should come as no surprise that University Park, which is home to the University of Maryland, has the highest education ranking in the country. 87.8 percent of individuals in the city have a bachelor’s degree or above.
4. McLean, VA
The public schools of Fairfax County, of which McLean is a part, have earned a national reputation for excellence. Potomac, Maryland is located just across the Potomac River from this city, which has a population of 47,682 and is located on the outskirts of Washington, District of Columbia (another one of the richest cities in America).
5. Westport, CT
Westport is a popular choice for people who want to work in New York City but live outside of it because of its location along the Long Island Sound and its proximity to the city, which is only 52 miles to the northeast. Seventy-eight percent of individuals who live in Westport have a bachelor’s or higher level of education.
6. San Jose, CA
San Jose is the richest city in the US which is also the capital of Silicon Valley, home to over 2,500 high-tech enterprises and 90,000 employment. Cisco, eBay, Adobe, PayPal, Samsung, Acer, Hewlett Packard, and Zoom are just a few examples.
When compared to folks in other parts of the country, the median household income is $130,865. Unemployment is low, education is high, and incomes that are out of this world. The average household in this state earns $85,000 more than in any other state.
7. San Francisco, CA
San Francisco is one of just two metro regions in the United States where the majority of households earn more than $100,000 a year. With a median household income of $114,696, it is the second richest city in the US. A typical property in sunny San Francisco will set you back around $1 million, but that’s not such a lofty request given the average household earns six figures.
Over half of the adults have a bachelor’s degree, thanks to nearby prestigious educational institutions such as Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley. San Francisco has one of the finest educated populations among metro regions in the country, and its incomes tend to climb with educational attainment. In comparison to the national average of 32.0 per cent, over half of all individuals in the metro region hold a bachelor’s degree or above.
8. Washington, DC
The metropolitan region of Washington, D.C. includes the whole federal district as well as sections of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The area is famed for its extravagant celebrity residences, with everyone from Barack Obama to Jeff Bezos owning a multimillion-dollar home there. The median household income is pretty high. It has $105,9659 with home values of $446,300.
Well-paying government employment abounds, as one might anticipate. Apart from the national monuments and presidential residences, the region is home to Georgetown University and other prestigious educational institutions. A bachelor’s degree is held by more than half of the individuals in this town.
Don’t miss out this article on richest counties in the US.
9. Bridgeport, CT
This metropolitan area has ranked as the fourth-best richest city by median household income. However, a sharp economic disparity runs through this metropolitan region, making it one of the worst in the country. Despite the exceptionally high median income, many inhabitants, notably in Bridgeport, the historic manufacturing centre, live in poverty.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the richest 1% in Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk earn 62.2 times more than the bottom 99 per cent. The median home value is $444,500 with the median household income of $97,053.
If you are on the higher end of the economic scale, you will have access to a variety of attractions, including a number of well-recognised beaches, parks, and restaurants. To the west, Stamford is a significant business centre with numerous Fortune 500 corporations, including telecommunications behemoth Charter Communications.
10. Boston, MA
Only five metro regions in the United States have a majority of households earning at least $94,430 a year. Educational attainment is associated with better earnings, and roughly half of all individuals in the Boston metro region hold a bachelor’s degree or above. The significant concentration of colleges and institutions contributes to the well-educated populace. In 2016, approximately 104,000 degrees were given by post-secondary schools in the metro region, including Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern.
With an unemployment rate of around 2.7 per cent, the metro region has a solid job market. General Electric, Massachusetts General Hospital, and federal contractor MITRE Corporation are among the major employers in and surrounding Boston.
11. Seattle, WA
Outside of California, Seattle is the wealthiest metro region on the West Coast. The majority of households in the metro region make at least $94,027 a year, with 12% earning more than $200,000. The metro region has a well-educated workforce (almost 44% of persons in the metro region hold a bachelor’s degree or above) as well as a number of high-paying businesses.
Whether it’s gigantic enterprises like Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco, T-Mobile, and Nordstrom, or wealthy leaders like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, who built their houses in the town of Medina next door, Seattle is home to some of the largest names in the country.
You should find this article on richest neighborhoods in America very interesting.
12. Napa, CA
Napa is one of three California metro areas to make the list of the top fifteen richest cities in the United States. Napa is a tiny city with a population of fewer than 150,000 people, located just north of the San Francisco Bay, which is home to numerous other metro areas on this list. Most Napa households make at least $92,769 per year, with 12.4 per cent earning more than $200,000.
Napa Valley is well-known across the world as a wine-growing region, and local wineries, as well as the tourist they generate, contribute significantly to the local economy. Agriculture employs 3.4 per cent of all workers in the area, more than double the national average of 1.7 per cent.
13. Oxnard, CA
Oxnard is a metro region just north of Los Angeles with a population of around 850,000 people. The average household in the region earns approximately $92,236 a year, which is $22,500 higher than the national average. The majority of properties in the metro region are valued at more than half a million dollars, put it out of reach for many low-income Americans. In the metro region, just 3.1 per cent of households earn less than $10,000 a year, compared to 6.5 per cent nationally.
This metro region, located just west of Los Angeles, offers a small vacation from the city’s exorbitant home prices. Coastal cities and towns, on the other hand, have pleasant weather, easy access to parks and the coastline, and a diverse range of economic prospects. Ventura dubbed the “city of good fortune,” has a plethora of well-paying professions in health care, tourism, and technology. Patagonia, an outdoor apparel brand, is also located here.
14. Santa Cruz, CA
The median household income in Santa Cruz is $89,269, which is more than the national median income in all but a dozen metro regions. The metro area is located just south of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay, which is home to numerous other metro regions on this list.
The high cost of living in the metro region more than offsets the area’s high salaries. On average, goods and services in the Santa Cruz metro region cost around 25% more than they do nationwide. After adjusting for inflation, the average household’s purchasing power is around $63,900, which is just slightly higher than the national median yearly household income of $60,336.This town is home to the University of California, Santa Cruz, and roughly 44% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree.
While COVID-19 had a severe influence on Santa Cruz’s economy in 2020, the tourist sector often provides a significant boost to the city’s economy. Every year, four million people visit the city’s sandy beaches and redwood woods. Unemployment tends to rise throughout the winter months, as one might assume, although rates had been progressively declining previous to the epidemic.
Check out this fascinating list of richest families in the US.
15. Boulder, CO
Boulder is the richest city in Colorado and the tenth wealthiest in the United States. Most households in the metro region make more than $88,535 per year, and 13.7 per cent make more than $200,000 per year – a higher percentage than all but six other metro regions in the US.
Boulder, like many other metro cities on our list, has a well-educated workforce and a favourable employment environment. Boulder’s unemployment rate of 2.5 per cent is far below the national unemployment average of 3.8 per cent, and over two-thirds of individuals have a bachelor’s degree or above, compared to less than a third of Americans. High-paying tech businesses like Google and IBM are major employers in the metro region.
16. San Mateo, CA
San Mateo is the richest city in Colorado and the tenth wealthiest in the United States. Most households in the metro region make more than $87,947 per year, and 13.7 per cent make more than $200,000 per year – a higher percentage than all but six other metro regions in the US.
San Mateo, like many other metro cities on our list, has a well-educated workforce and a favourable employment environment. Boulder’s unemployment rate of 2.5 per cent is far below the national unemployment average of 3.8 per cent, and over two-thirds of individuals have a bachelor’s degree or above, compared to less than a third of Americans. High-paying tech businesses like Google and IBM are major employers in the metro region.
17. Santa Rosa, CA
Santa Rosa is a half-million-person metropolis about 50 miles north of San Francisco. The majority of households in the metro region make more than $87,828 a year, and one out of every ten makes more than $200,000. Santa Rosa, like most other high-income cities, is pricey. Because the cost of goods and services in Santa Rosa is around 21% more than the national average, the typical family income is only approximately $66,500, which is just slightly more than the national median annual family income of $60,336.
Manufacturing and processing, renewable technology, and life sciences are all promising industries in the region. Unemployment is low, and more than 37% of individuals have earned a bachelor’s degree.
18. Urban Honolulu, HI
Honolulu is the richest city in Hawaii and the ninth wealthiest in the United States. Most metro area households make at least $87,470 per year, with more than one in ten earning more than $200,000. The high property values in the area reflect the area’s high wages. The average home in the Honolulu region is valued at $680,200, which is more than quadruple the average American house’s value of $217,600.
A strong labour market boosts earnings. Only 2.7 per cent of local employees are unemployed, about a full percentage point lower than the national unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent, which is close to a historic low. Because many low- and middle-income residents have been priced out of the neighbourhood, the median household income is high, and unemployment is low. Almost 36% of individuals have earned a bachelor’s degree.
19. Vallejo, CA
This list includes numerous metro regions in California’s San Francisco Bay region, including Vallejo. The average household in a metro region makes $86,652 a year, almost $17,000 more than the average American home. Unlike virtually every other city on this list, Vallejo citizens are less likely than the average American to hold a four-year college degree.
Only 26.6 per cent of adults in the metro region hold a bachelor’s degree, compared to 32 per cent of Americans. The lower-than-average bachelor’s degree completion rate is most likely due to the kind of occupations available in the area. Construction, for example, employs 9.3 per cent of the workforce in the area and frequently has lower higher-education requirements. This is a far higher proportion than in other cities, and much above the national average of 6.6 per cent.
20. Denver, CO
The average household in the Denver metro region earns $85,641 a year, which is higher than in all but 20 other cities in the United States. Earnings rise in tandem with educational achievement, and in Denver, 43.9 per cent of individuals have a bachelor’s degree or above, well exceeding the national average of 32 per cent.
Residents enjoy broad open green areas, gorgeous neighbourhoods, and bustling arts and music scene in addition to the solid economy. Even if city life doesn’t appeal to you, the stunning Rocky Mountains are only an hour away.
A city’s median household income is influenced by a number of things. Large college-educated populations are common in the richest metropolitan regions. They also have a strong labour market and a concentration of industries that offer better earnings.