The 47 Richest Cities Where the Rich Are Getting Richer

You may have wondered, “If I were to suddenly become super wealthy, where would I live?” Famous big and expensive cities like Malibu, Honolulu or Miami may come to mind. But where you’d relocate to if you landed a windfall is likely different from where you might actually live if you were to gradually climb to great wealth.

Perhaps surprisingly, a new study by GOBankingRates revealed that most of the cities where the wealthy manage to keep getting wealthier are on the smaller side; some of these places you may have never even heard of. Less surprising is the fact that loads of these wealth-growing cities are in California.

GOBankingRates analyzed cities across the U.S to find the cities where the rich are getting richer, determining data points including the household rich income in 2017, 2019 and 2022, respectively, among other key information. In all of these 47 cities, as of 2022, the household median income was $250,000 and up.

47. Portola Valley, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 56.6%    

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 55.8% 

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 58.6%

46. Monte Sereno, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 58.9%    

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 68.8% 

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 60.9%

45. Castle Pines Village, Colorado

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 54.2%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 55.8%  

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 57.0%

44. Mission Hills, Kansas

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 65.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 67.7%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 68.2%

43. Piney Point Village, Texas

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 63.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 65.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 68.8%

42. University Park, Texas

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 52.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 54.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 58.9%

41. Camino Tassajara, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 53.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 60.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 59.6%

40. Atherton, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 61.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 64.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 68.1%

39. Loyola, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 59.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 60.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 66.3%

38. Los Altos Hills, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 58.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 61.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 66.3%

37. West University Place, Texas

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 57.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 63.9%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 65.1%

36. Short Hills, New Jersey

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 63.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 66.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 72.9%

35. Hunters Creek Village, Texas

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 65.6%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 71.7%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 75.0%

34. Cherry Hills Village

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 57.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 60.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 66.9%

33. Winnetka, Illinois

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 54.2%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 57.2%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 66.9%

32. Darnestown, Maryland

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 46.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 53.2%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 56.4%

31. Scarsdale, New York

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 64.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 68.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 74.3%

30. Woodside, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 58.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 62.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 69.0%

29. Ladue, Missouri

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 51.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 51.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 61.3%

28. Great Falls, Virginia

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 58.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 58.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 69.4%

27. Bunker Hill Village, Texas

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 57.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 56.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 69.5%

26. Los Altos, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 51.6%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 57.6%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 64.2%

25. Southlake, Texas

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 51.7%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 58.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 64.3%

24. Hinsdale, Illinois

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 45.7%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 50.7%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 58.4%

23. Orinda, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 47.9%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 55.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 60.8%

22. Hillsborough, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 56.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 62.2%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 69.6%

21. Crosspointe, Virginia

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 49.7%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 47.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 63.0%

20. McLean, Virginia

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 48.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 52.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 61.8%

19. Alamo, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 51.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 56.6%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 65.7%

18. Frontenac, Missouri

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 41.9%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 52.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 56.8%

17. Riverside, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 49.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 51.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 64.6%

16. Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 44.4%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 52.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 59.6%

15. Rumson, New Jersey

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 43.9%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 48.9%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 59.4%

14. Old Westbury, New York

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 45.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 51.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 61.7%

13. Chatham, New Jersey

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 42.9%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 47.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 59.3%

12. Wellesley, Massachusetts

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 44.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 49.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 60.7%

11. Brookmont, Maryland

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 53.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 65.9%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 69.4%

10. Clyde Hill, Washington

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 52.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 60.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 69.1%

9. Flower Hill, New York

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 42.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 49.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 59.2%

8. West Menlo Park, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 47.5%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 51.7%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 64.6%

7. East Hills, New York

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 49.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 59.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 66.6%

6. Mountain Lakes, New Jersey

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 45.6%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 58.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 63.3%

5. Piedmont, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 50.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 57.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 68.2%

4. Pelham Manor, New York

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 44.0%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 45.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 62.2%

3. Emerald Lake Hills, California

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 50.3%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 55.8%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 70.3%

2. Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 41.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 55.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 65.2%

1. Kildeer, Illinois

• Household rich income percent in 2017: 41.1%

• Household rich income percent in 2019: 52.2%

• Household rich income percent in 2022: 67.7%

Methodology. For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed US Cities across the United States to find the cities where the rich are getting richer. First GOBankingRates found the cities by finding all cities with at least 1,000 households and with a median household income of over $250,000, in order to filter out just the rich households. For each city on the list a number of factors were found including; median household income, mean household income, number of households, and percentage of households that have a household income of $200,000 or more all from the US Census’s 2022 American Community Survey, US Census’s 2019 American Community Survey, and US Census’s 2017 American Community Survey. Using the percentage of households earning $200,000 or more and the total number of households, the total number of households that earn $200,000 or more can be calculated. The change in quantity and percentage of households that earn $200,000 or more from 2017 to 2022 can be calculated. The percentage change in households that earn $200,000 or more was sorted to show the largest increase to any city, showcasing the cities where the rich are getting richer. All data was collected on and is up-to-date as-of April 23rd, 2024.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The 47 Richest Cities Where the Rich Are Getting Richer