Richest Cities and Towns by Income and Net Worth
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau and IRS data, Atherton, California remains the wealthiest incorporated city by median household income, followed by Scarsdale, New York, and Los Altos Hills, California. These towns combine high incomes with low poverty rates and large share of households reporting seven-figure investment income. Nearby Silicon Valley cities such as Palo Alto and Cupertino also rank highly due to tech sector compensation and stock-based pay Forbes.
On the East Coast, towns like Greenwich, Connecticut, and Short Hills, New Jersey, sit among the richest places in the United States by aggregate net worth and financial-sector salaries. Many of these communities host private wealth offices, family offices, and registered investment advisors, with SEC filings showing concentrated holdings in hedge funds and private equity SEC EDGAR.
Richest Counties and Metropolitan Areas
Loudoun County, Virginia, and Falls Church City consistently top lists of the richest counties by median household income, driven by federal contracting, technology firms, and high-paying professional services. Nearby Fairfax County, Virginia, and Howard County, Maryland, also rank highly due to proximity to Washington, D.C., and major government and defense contractors.
Among metropolitan areas, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, metro area leads in per-capita income and share of workers in high-paying tech occupations, while the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, metro area benefits from government, lobbying, and consulting salaries. These metros include multiple of the richest ZIP codes in the country, often clustered around corporate campuses and financial districts Forbes.
Richest ZIP Codes and Billionaire Concentrations
ZIP codes such as 94027 in Atherton, 11901 in East Hampton, New York, and 08003 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, appear at the top of IRS and credit-report data for average adjusted gross income and net worth. These codes often correspond to single-digit-mile radii with multimillion-dollar homes, high property-tax bases, and concentrated philanthropic giving.
In terms of billionaire density, the Palm Beach, Florida, area and the Manhattan neighborhoods of the Upper East Side and Central Park West host the highest concentrations of ultra-high-net-worth individuals per capita. Public SEC filings and Forbes tracking show many of these residents hold large stakes in companies like Tesla and SpaceX, with Elon Musk linked to multiple California and Texas addresses Tesla SpaceX.