Wealthiest Zip Codes in America
The typical median annual salary for American workers aged 35 to 64 hovers in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. The typical working American would have to make more than 10 times that to live like the people in these zip codes.
Using data from the Internal Revenue Service, Bloomberg analyzed the 2016 tax returns of over 22,000 zip codes with at least 500 households and found the wealthiest places to live in the United States.
These are the richest zip codes in America, along with a bit of our own research about each area and its median home listing price.
30. Los Altos, California — 94022
Median income: $547,100
Median home listing price: $3.1 million
Population: 18,500
Bottom line: Los Altos Hills is located in Santa Clara County, which has the third-highest GDP per capita in the world as of 2015, according to the Brookings Institute.
Los Altos Hills is an almost entirely commercial-free town, with only a college book store and a gift shop in a nunnery being the only two places to buy anything.
29. Portola Valley, California — 94028
Median income: $547,800
Median home listing price: $4.2 million
Population: 4,598
Bottom line: Portola Valley is a small, wealthy town on the San Francisco Peninsula bisected by the San Andreas Fault.
The town is so quaint that it uses a 1909-built, one-room schoolhouse as a place for town council meetings.
Its most famous mansion is Villa Lauriston, a 16,000-square-foot house that sold for $13 million in 2015.
28. Villanova, Pennsylvania — 19085
Median income: $553,600
Median home listing price: $1.4 million
Population: 8,961
Bottom line: Villanova, Pennsylvania, is a suburb of Philadelphia and home to Villanova University — an elite university with annual tuition of $72,000.
That's just a drop in the bucket to the residents of Villanova, who make about $554,000 a year.
27. Rancho Santa Fe, California — 92067
Median income: $556,700
Median home listing price: $3.4 million
Population: 2,591
Bottom line: Rancho Santa Fe isn't just the town where the Heaven's Gate mass suicide took place. It's also one of the wealthiest zip codes in America (there are still four remaining Heaven's Gate followers who tend to the website, but the cult is no longer recruiting).
Aside from that, Rancho Santa Fe is home to some very expensive houses, like this $30 million post-modern mansion.
26. Captiva, Florida — 33924
Median income: $570,700
Median home listing price: $899,000
Population: 583
Bottom line: Captiva, Florida, is a small, 1.64-square-mile-island located off of Florida's southwestern coast.
The island is dotted with golf clubs, mansions and yachts. Its most famous resident was the pop artist Robert Rauschenberg, who lived here until his death in 2008.
Note that the median home price is skewed because tiny, 580-square-foot apartments go for around $330,000.
25. Naples, Florida — 34102
Median income: $572,600
Median home listing price: $1.8 million
Population: 10,460
Bottom Line: Naples News said it best: "The Port Royal area has been called one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Southwest Florida and is considered a landmark community with its white sand beaches off the Gulf of Mexico and 500 residences, many of which are multi-million-dollar mansions."
Famous residents include Judge Judy, Shahid Khan, Larry Bird and musician Bob Seger.
24. Chicago, Illinois — 60606
Median income: $580,000
Median home listing price: $399,000
Population: 2,308
Bottom line: This ZIP code is located in the heart of downtown Chicago.
With a median income of $580,000, residents enjoy living in upscale apartments and condos right by the Chicago River, which bisects the neighborhood.
23. Greenwich, Connecticut — 06831
Median income: $586,200
Median home listing price: $2.3 million
Population: 14,792
Bottom line: Greenwich, Connecticut, is one of the wealthiest places on the Gold Coast and home to one of the most expensive properties in the country (which is this mansion).
This ZIP code is in North Greenwich, which is favorable to hedge fund managers, business executives and old money.
22. Beverly Hills, California — 90210
Median income: $604,800
Median home listing price: $6 million
Population: 34,183
Bottom line: Beverly Hills is the most famous ZIP code in the United States, thanks to the classic teenage drama "Beverly Hills, 90210."
While many Hollywood elites live in the super-exclusive area, "90210" creator Aaron Spelling built his 55,000-square-foot mansion in Holmby Hills.
21. Palo Alto, California — 94304
Median income: $613,000
Median home listing price: $4.8 million
Population: 3,627
Bottom line: Palo Alto is a Silicon Valley town that is home to Stanford University.
It's overflowing with wealth since big companies like PayPal, Apple, Google and Facebook have headquarters nearby.
This ZIP code is home to many young tech professionals, with the median age being 40 years old.
20. Far Hills, New Jersey (07931)
Median income: $614,200
Median home listing price: $1.3 million
Population: 911
Bottom line: Far Hills is a tiny little town that's home to the Far Hills Race Meeting, which hosts an annual horse racing contest. There's always money in places where horses are raced.
There are also parks, gardens, museums and an arboretum to entertain tourists.
Just don't go if you want to have a drink because it's a dry town.
19. Old Westbury, New York (11568)
Median income: $616,800
Median home listing price: $2.4 million
Population: 4,555
Bottom line: A sleepy hamlet on the North Shore of Long Island, Old Westbury makes up just 8.6 square miles of land — but boy, is that land beautiful.
While it must be fun to drive and gawk at the gated mansions, it’s probably even more fun to stop at the historic Old Westbury Gardens. In fact, you’ve probably already seen it: The gardens have been the filming location for films like "North by Northwest," "The Age of Innocence," "Cruel Intentions" and "Hitch."
The Buchanan estate in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 "The Great Gatsby" was inspired by Old Westbury Gardens as well.
18. Boston, Massachusetts — 02110
Median income: $622,600
Median home listing price: $1.5 million
Population: 1,733
Bottom line: This ZIP code, in the bustling financial and waterfront districts of Boston, is home to the headquarters of big businesses like Fidelity, Eastern Bank, State Street Bank and Putnam Investments.
You may want to check with one of them if you need to buy a home there.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is also in the financial district.
17. Newport Beach, California — 92657
Median income: $623,200
Median home listing price: $3.2 million
Population: 9,741
Bottom line: This ZIP code in Newport Beach, California, is Newport Coast, a wealthy hillside community of about seven square miles by the water.
It's the richest ZIP code in Orange County.
16. Houston, Texas — 77010
Median income: $648,300
Median home listing price: N/A
Population: 366
Bottom line: Talk about a tough real estate market. This tiny, 0.12-square-mile neighborhood in downtown Houston has zero homes for sale.
The real estate moves fast here, with the last recorded sale being a 4,800 square-foot condo that sold in five months for somewhere around $2.9 million.
15. Alpine, New Jersey — 07620
Median income: 680,300
Median home listing price: $3.2 million
Population: 1,849
Bottom line: Alpine, New Jersey, is 15 miles away from midtown Manhattan, so naturally, it's a place for New York City's elite to settle down away from the hustle of the concrete jungle.
Alpine has long been one of America's most expensive ZIP codes and, for those who can afford it, is one of the most sought-after places to live in the New Jersey area.
14. Gladwyne, Pennsylvania — 19035
Median income: $687,000
Median home listing price: $1.2 million
Population: 3,780
Bottom line: Gladwyne is a small, hilly suburban town located in eastern Pennsylvania.
M. Night Shyamalan lived here in a giant mansion in 2000, but he sold it in 2008.
Unlike a Shyamalan movie, there’s no twist to this village. It’s just really, really rich.
13. Short Hills, New Jersey — 07078
Median income: $727,300
Median home listing price: $1.6 million
Population: 13,134
Bottom line: Short Hills, New Jersey, was Time's richest town in America in 2014.
It might not be the wealthiest anymore, but with a median annual income of $727,000 among its 13,000 residents, it's not too far off.
"Goodbye, Columbus," the well-known book by Phillip Roth, is set in Short Hills.
12. Chicago, Illinois — 60604
Median income: $739,800
Median home listing price: $439,000
Population: 570
Bottom line: The Loop is a small neighborhood to the east of the Chicago River that's right smack in the middle of Chicago's commercial district.
Real estate is hard to find and expensive here. You might say trying to find a home in the Loop will throw you for a loop.
11. Weston, Massachusetts — 02493
Median income: $757,000
Median home listing price: $1.9 million
Population: 11,389
Bottom line: Weston is one of those places you go to give your kids a good education — the town placed third on Boston.com’s 2017 best school districts list.
There are tons of historic houses and beautiful foliage for scenery, and it’s apparently a very safe place to live.
10. Kenilworth, Illinois — 60043
Median income: $772,200
Median home listing price: $1.4 million
Population: 2,513
Bottom line: With around 800 households, this tiny town 17 miles north of Chicago is loaded with wealth.
Notably, the area is home to the Kenilworth Assembly Hall and hosts benefits and concerts.
9. Boca Grande, Florida — 33921
Median income: $773,500
Median home listing price: $1.6 million
Population: 1,720
Bottom line: Boca Grande is a small community for wealthy retirees, with over 50 percent of the population being 65 or older.
With only a single gas pump in town, residents putter around on golf carts.
8. Los Angeles, California — 90067
Median income: $826,400
Median home listing price: $1.7 million
Population: 5,934
Bottom line: This ZIP code covers Century City, a residential and commercial district in downtown Los Angeles, situated next to Beverly Hills.
The wealthy area got its name from 21st Century Fox, which actually owned much of Century City as its huge studio backlot. The studio sold off the land in the 1950s.
Fox Studios is still located here.
7. Medina, Washington — 98039
Median income: $848,600
Median home listing price: $4.5 million
Population: 2,971, as of 2010
Bottom line: Medina is located less than 30 minutes away from Seattle, and it's home to some very wealthy people. The most famous resident is Bill Gates, who owns a 24-bedroom custom house worth at least $60 million that’s nicknamed Xanadu 2.0.
In 2008, the Seattle Times described Medina as "as a place where very wealthy people want to be left alone" and where "cops stop unfamiliar people on the street and seem to know even the dogs by name."
6. Purchase, New York — 10577
Median income: $857,300
Median home listing price: $2.4 million
Population: 6,552
Bottom line: A hamlet of Harrison, New York, Purchase is one of those affluent places where the rich go to get the countryside feeling of being away from everything without being too far away from anything.
According to The New York Times, Purchase residents have easy access to major highways, trains and the Westchester Airport.
And New York City is as little as 30 minutes away.
5. New York, New York — 10007
Median income: $879,000
Median home listing price: $2.9 million
Population: 6,988
Bottom line: This zip code (10007) is located in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City, a swank section of town where famous people like Meg Ryan, Justin Timberlake and Jake Gyllenhaal call home.
They live their private, famous lives in a "paparazzi-proof" building where the units have astronomical price tags.
4. Palm Beach, Florida — 33480
Median income: $1,064,800
Median home listing price: $1.3 million
Population: 9,549
Bottom line: With just 4.2 square miles of land on an 18-mile long strip on the easternmost piece of Florida, Palm Beach is the tiniest place on this list.
While there’s no real industry within the town itself, the mansion known as Mar-a-Lago is here.
3. Palo Alto, California — 94301
Median income: $1,279,200
Median home listing price: $3.7 million
Population: 16,955
Bottom line: That's right, Palo Alto made the list twice.
This downtown area of Palo Alto not only has the fourth highest-paid residents in the country, but it’s also a top spot for residents who know how to work tax loopholes.
In Bloomberg's 2018 analysis of the country's richest zip codes, this neighborhood had the highest average tax deduction in the nation at the time (citizens deducted $491,600 on average).
2. Atherton, California — 94027
Median income: $1,287,800
Median home listing price: $6 million
Population: 9,549
Bottom line: The second-richest place in the entire country, Atherton is home to some super-rich and super-important people.
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, billionaire businessman Charles Schwab and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg all live in Atherton, according to CNBC.
The town is near the core of Silicon Valley, making this place an ideal location for the super-rich to buy astounding properties with an easy commute.
1. Fisher Island, Florida — 33109
Average income: $2,212,500
Median listing price: $4.7 million
Population: 594
Bottom line: With an average income of $2.2 million per resident — almost $1 million more than the second-richest place in America — Fisher Island is the undisputed reigning champ of America’s ultra-wealthy residences. This is a place where a 9,500 square-foot condo goes for $29.5 million.
Fisher Island is located three miles from the shore of Miami, and you can only reach it by boat or helicopter.
That shouldn’t be a problem. Every resident and their dog likely own at least one of those vehicles.