America's Richest Towns in 2025: Where Wealth Concentration Reaches Record Heights

For the second consecutive year, exclusive residential communities across America continue to showcase extreme wealth concentration. According to comprehensive rankings from GOBankingRates analyzing census data and property valuations, the nation’s richest towns reveal fascinating patterns about where America’s most affluent households choose to settle. These communities—analyzed by examining household income levels across metropolitan areas—paint a vivid picture of wealth distribution across the country.

The analysis examined cities with at least 5,000 households within metropolitan statistical areas, isolating the top 50 richest towns based on average household income. Data from the U.S. Census 2023 American Community Survey combined with Zillow property valuations from 2025 reveals not just who is wealthiest, but which communities experienced the most dramatic shifts in their economic standing.

Geographic Wealth Distribution: California’s Dominance Among America’s Richest Towns

California reinforces its position as America’s premier destination for the wealthy, now hosting 17 of the nation’s richest towns—an increase from 16 the previous year. This Western state’s concentration of affluence spans from the San Francisco Bay Area through Silicon Valley to the Los Angeles metropolitan region.

The five highest-income California towns paint a portrait of tech-driven prosperity: Los Altos leads with average household income of $403,512 and median home values exceeding $4.5 million. Alamo follows closely with $403,334 in household income, while Orinda, Palos Verdes Estates, and Saratoga round out the top five, each maintaining household incomes between $344,000 and $369,000. These communities experienced notable property appreciation, with Los Altos home values climbing 6.1% year-over-year and Saratoga seeing 6% growth.

Texas claims a strategic position with five richest towns in the top 50, including an impressive three entries in the elite top 10. West University Place near Houston ranks third nationally with $409,677 in household income, while University Park (serving Dallas) positions at sixth with $389,868. Southlake near Fort Worth surges to seventh place, a remarkable jump from its 13th-place ranking the previous year. Additional Texas communities—Bellaire and the newly-ranked Colleyville—demonstrate the state’s emerging appeal to high-income households seeking alternatives to coastal living.

The Rising Stars: New Entries and Surprising Climbs in Top Rankings

The 2025 rankings highlight a dynamic shift in America’s wealth geography. Six richest towns earned their debut in the top 50, signaling emerging affluent communities or improved economic performance. Alamo, California (#5) represents the most significant newcomer, entering directly into the upper echelon. Coto de Caza (#22) and Lake Butler, Florida (#40) also represent new entries, as do Colleyville, Texas (#47), Newton, Massachusetts (#49), and Brentwood, Tennessee (#50).

Southlake’s dramatic 6-position climb from 13th place exemplifies market momentum, driven by household income growth of 2.8% paired with home value appreciation of 2.6%. This community’s rise reflects broader Texas market dynamics, where established wealth centers attract migration from other regions.

Income Trends vs. Property Values: What the Data Reveals

Scarsdale, New York maintains America’s top ranking, unchanged for the second consecutive year, with household income of $601,193 and property values reaching $1,207,528. The New York suburb demonstrated 2.2% income growth, though its real estate market showed more modest appreciation at 3.2%.

Conversely, many richest towns experienced income declines despite property value appreciation. West University Place, Orinda, and Wellesley, Massachusetts all saw household incomes decrease 1-4% year-over-year, yet their home values still appreciated 4-5%. This pattern suggests that property appreciation is driven less by local income growth and more by broader real estate market dynamics, migration patterns, and geographic scarcity.

The most dramatic income growth occurred in Mountain Brook, Alabama, which saw household income surge 9.5%, while San Carlos, California jumped 8.7%—suggesting these communities attracted higher-earning residents or experienced wage growth outpacing national trends.

Where Fortunes Concentrate: The Top 10 Richest American Towns

Beyond Scarsdale’s leadership, New York’s Rye captures second place with $421,259 in household income and home values exceeding $1.8 million, appreciating 4.4% annually. The concentration of affluence along the Northeast Corridor remains pronounced, with multiple New Jersey and Connecticut communities maintaining strong positions.

The top 10 showcases geographic diversity: three hail from the New York metropolitan area, three from Texas (Western states capturing three positions), and two from Massachusetts. This distribution reflects multiple wealth creation centers—financial services in New York, technology in California, energy and professional services in Texas, and biotech/education in Massachusetts.

Notably, Florida’s wealthiest communities rank lower than one might expect. Palm Beach positions at 13th with $356,467 household income, despite averaging $10.3 million per property—the highest property values among the nation’s richest towns. This disparity highlights how Palm Beach attracts wealth through prestige and lifestyle rather than current earning households. Pinecrest (#21) and Lake Butler (#40) represent Florida’s other top-50 representatives, with Lake Butler showing emerging affluence through 3.8% income growth.

The Methodology Behind America’s Richest Towns Rankings

These rankings employ rigorous data analysis methodology. GOBankingRates isolated cities with minimum 5,000 households from the U.S. Census 2023 American Community Survey, calculating average household income—not median income—to capture communities where the wealthiest households concentrate.

Property valuations derived from Zillow’s Home Value Index for 2025, supplemented with ZIP code-level data where municipalities weren’t individually listed. The 2022 baseline income was inflation-adjusted to 2023 values using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI calculator, enabling year-over-year comparisons of both nominal and real income growth.

Understanding America’s richest towns through this lens reveals that wealth concentration continues accelerating in specific metropolitan regions, with technology hubs and established East Coast communities maintaining dominance while selective Sun Belt communities capture increasing share of high-income households.