There are more than five million millionaires in the USA. Where do most of them live?
If your mind wanders to major metropolises like New York CityLos Angeles, Chicago or Houston, you're on the right track: All of the above boast a high number of millionaire families.
However, the wealth can be measured in different ways, and when considering the percentage of millionaire households relative to a city's total population — along with other key indicators of wealth — the “richest” US cities may not be where you expect .
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Property management company Evernest examine personal income, cost of livinghomeownership rate, percentage of households with $1 million or more in investable assets by state, and median household income by state in 45 US cities to determine the wealthiest.
Through weighted and normalized indicators, the study produced an overall wealth index and final index score that ranked cities from wealthiest to least wealthy.*
The analysis revealed BaltimoreMaryland, as the “richest” city in the US Baltimore has the highest rate of households with more than $1 million in investable assets at 9.92% and the highest median household income by state at $97,501.
Image Credit: Kruck20 | Getty Images. Baltimore, Maryland.
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BostonMassachusetts and NewarkNew Jersey took second and third place, respectively. Boston's percentage of households with more than $1 million in investable assets stands at 9.6%, and Newark's at 9.89%. The median household income of both cities is just under $97,000.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Anchorage, Alaska, have the highest home ownership rates, respectively 74% and 67.2%.
Check out the full list of Evernest's findings on the “richest” US cities below:
town | Population | % of households with $1 million+ in investable assets | Home ownership rate | Median household income by state | index |
Baltimore | 569 thousand | 9.92 | 47.8% | $97,501 | 0.87 |
Boston | 650 thousand | 9.60 | 35.0% | $96,898 | 0.86 |
Newark | 305 thousand | 9.89 | 24.0% | $96,521 | 0.84 |
Honolulu | 343 thousand | 9.48 | 51.0% | $91,723 | 0.81 |
Virginia Beach | 455 thousand | 8.55 | 64.6% | $87,514 | 0.77 |
anchoring | 287 thousand | 8.74 | 67.2% | $84,144 | 0.76 |
Los Angeles | 3.8 million | 8.76 | 36.6% | $91,777 | 0.74 |
Seattle | 749 thousand | 8.02 | 61.5% | $91,063 | 0.72 |
Denver | 713 thousand | 7.96 | 62.7% | $88,909 | 0.67 |
Minneapolis | 425 thousand | 7.57 | 74.0% | $84,009 | 0.63 |
*TThese indicators were normalized to ensure comparability between cities, with values such as personal income and living costs adjusted based on minimum and maximum values. The data were then min-max scaled between 0 and 1, where 0 represents the lowest values and 1 the highest values within the data set.