Bloomberg recently published its 2016 analysis of America’s Richest Places based upon data from the US Census Bureau. This is the 21st consecutive year Bloomberg has published this analysis.
Silicon Valley and New York City have long been the richest places in America however, the Midwest is beginning to appear in Bloomberg’s list.
Atherton, CA holds the top spot for the second year in a row. Atherton sits among Palo Alto, Stanford University and Menlo Park, home of Facebook and other technology titans. The average household income in Atherton in 2016 was $443,403/year, $50,000 higher than Cherry Hills Village, CO in the 2nd spot.
Newcomers to America’s Richest Places include three suburban areas in Chicago. Clarendon Hills, 25 miles from Chicago, jumped 15% in terms of household income/year. Burr Ridge and Oak Brook and Hindale all made 4% – 15% gains in household income.
In 2016, close to $200,000 in household income/year was required to make Bloomberg’s Top 100 Richest Places in America. In 2015, $190,000 was required.
Here are the Top 10
- Atherton, CA
- Cherry Hills Village, CO
- Scarsdale, NY
- Los Altos Hills, CA
- Old Greenwich, CN
- Hillsborough, CA – actually tied with Old Greenwich
- Short Hills, NJ
- Bronxville, NY
- Highland Park, TX
- Darien, CN
The cities and towns in the Tri-State area of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey were 36 of the top 100 spots. This area represents the most concentrated area of wealth in any region of the country.
California was represented by 21 cities, the majority of those cities in the Bay Area.
Other states that had 5 or more locations on this Top 100 Richest list were Texas, Maryland and Kentucky.
Remember that high paying jobs are just one of the elements that help people live large lives. Passive income, dividends, rents, royalties and distributions from estates and trusts also help people live large lives. Atherton comes in at #1 in terms of passive income; Palm Beach Florida comes in #2.
