America's Richest Towns

quote:

---

For the fourth straight year, Atherton topped Bloomberg’s Richest Places annual index. With an average household income of more than $525,000, it became the first and so far only community to top the half-million dollar mark since Bloomberg started compiling the index in 2017.

In second place for the second straight year is Scarsdale, New York, less than 25 miles outside Manhattan, with an average $452,000 in annual household income. Also making the top 10 are a town near Denver, two northern suburbs of Chicago, and a wealthy enclave in Dallas, Texas.

In general, the East and West Coasts dominate the top-100 list. California takes up 23 places, while the tri-state area of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey accounts for 32 (although that’s down from 36 last year). Middle America is slowly gaining some ground. States including Illinois and Minnesota added one new listing in this year’s index, while Texas gained two (Lucas at No. 73, and Alamo Heights at No. 75).

Altogether, 16 states are represented on the list, the same number as in previous years -- suggesting that the concentration of wealth in certain regions remains largely unchanged over time. Also, the richest communities continue to get richer. This year, in order to make the top 100, a neighborhood needed an average household income of $220,000 -- up from $209,000 last year.

---