America's Richest Cities

Despite an ongoing economic recovery in the U.S., American households are still struggling. While last year the median household income rose to $52,250, Americans are still not as well off as they were just a few years earlier — in 2009, the median household income was $54,389.

Incomes in individual cities similarly reflected the same lack of growth that the nation experienced. Of America’s 372 metro areas, just 16 recorded a statistically significant increase in median household incomes between 2009 and 2013, while 115 recorded a meaningful decline. The distribution of incomes between cities, too, remained especially wide. The San Jose metro area is the nation’s richest, with a median household income of $91,533 in 2013, while Sebring, Florida is the nation’s poorest, with a median income of just $33,811 last year.

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While income levels and poverty rates do not always move in lockstep, they tend to be closely related. In fact, the Census Bureau measures poverty status by determining an income threshold for a household, depending on the age of the householders, family size, and number of children. As a result, poverty levels tend to be higher in places with exceptionally low incomes. Notably, the poverty rate in all 10 of the poorest metro areas exceeded the national rate of 15.8% in 2013. More than 34% of people in the McAllen, Texas metro area lived in poverty last year, the highest rate nationwide.

High-paying jobs are often concentrated in just a few industries, and the nation’s richest cities typically have very high concentrations of jobs in these fields. Professional services like the sciences and management positions, for example, accounted for 11.1% of America’s workforce. In most the wealthiest metro areas, however, far more regional workers were employed in these professions.

Further, low income areas tended to have smaller shares of residents that had earned at least a bachelor’s degree. Last year, 29.6% of Americans aged 25 and older had completed at least a bachelor’s degree. In the richest cities, this percentage was frequently far higher. In one of the richest metro areas, Boulder, Colorado, more than 58% of residents 25 and over had a college degree, the highest rate in the nation. In seven of the 10 poorest metro areas, on the other hand, fewer than 20% of adults had a bachelor’s degree.

Holding down a job can also play a major role in promoting high incomes because most Americans derive the majority of their income from their jobs. In a 2013 working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, authors Jeff Larrimore, Richard V. Burkhauser, and Philip Armour concluded that most of the decline in American post-tax incomes during the Great Recession was driven by a decline in employment.

Notably, nine of the 10 richest cities had unemployment rates below the national rate of 7.4% in 2013. On the other hand, in many of the nation’s poorest cities, the unemployment rates were quite high. Most of the poorest cities had unemployment rates above the national rate in 2013, and three of these metro areas had unemployment rates at or above 10% last year.

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey (ACS), 24/7 Wall St. identified the U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with the highest median household incomes. Median income data for all previous years is adjusted for inflation. We also reviewed figures on poverty, home values, and income inequality from the Census Bureau’s ACS, as well as annual average unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures on gross domestic product for metro areas, called gross metropolitan product (GMP), are for 2013 and are from IHS Global Insight.

These are America’s richest cities.

10. Napa, Calif.
> Median household income: $70,914
> Population: 140,326
> Unemployment rate: 6.3% (116th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 9.0% (10th lowest)

A typical household in the Napa metro area earned nearly $71,000 last year, more than in all but nine other metro areas. The national median household income, by contrast, was $52,250. Like most wealthy areas, poverty in Napa is much less common than in other cities. Just 9% of Napa residents lived in poverty last year, versus the national rate of 15.8%. With such high incomes, Napa residents can afford extremely valuable homes. Nearly 12% of Napa properties were worth more than $1 million, a higher proportion than in all but three other metro areas. And most area residents who did not own a home paid monthly rents of more than $1,200, also among the higher figures nationwide.

9. Midland, Texas
> Median household income: $71,442
> Population: 155,723
> Unemployment rate: 3.3% (3rd lowest)
> Poverty rate: 9.3% (15th lowest)

A drilling boom in the Texas Permian Basin has led to an economic renaissance in Midland. According to IHS Global Insight, Midland was the fastest-growing metro area in the nation in 2013, with a real GMP growth rate of 8.5%. The median income in Midland rose from $61,809 in 2012 to $71,442 in 2013. Last year, 9% of households in the Midland area earned at least $200,000, among the highest proportions in the nation. Further, just 9.3% of people lived below the poverty line in 2013, and just 3.3% of workers were unemployed, both among the lowest rates in the U.S.

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8. Boulder, Colo.
> Median household income: $71,604
> Population: 310,048
> Unemployment rate: 5.2% (48th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 13.9% (93rd lowest)

Last year, 9.2% of households in Boulder earned at least $200,000, a higher proportion than in all but eight metro areas nationwide. A well-educated population likely contributed to the high levels of income in Boulder. As of last year, 58.5% of residents 25 and older had at least a college degree — the most in the U.S. One contributing factor is the presence of the University of Colorado-Boulder, the state’s flagship university, which has nearly 32,000 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 1,100 tenured or tenure-track faculty members. Major private sector employers in the area include IBM, Ball Aerospace, and medical device giant Covidien.

7. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.
> Median household income: $72,907
> Population: 4,684,299
> Unemployment rate: 6.4% (128th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 10.4% (23rd lowest)

Like several other wealthy cities, residents of the Boston metro area are far more likely to work in traditionally higher-paying industries than residents of other cities. More than 15% of employees worked in professional and scientific positions, more than in all but a handful of other metro areas. The high volume of universities and research institutions likely contributes to Boston’s high educational attainment rates and the presence of high-paying jobs. Nearly 45% of residents had attained at least a bachelor’s degree as of last year, one of the highest rates nationwide. And one in 10 households reported incomes of at least $200,000 last year, one of the highest proportions of any metro area.

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6. Anchorage, Alaska
> Median household income: $76,831
> Population: 396,142
> Unemployment rate: 5.5% (65th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 7.1% (2nd lowest)

Anchorage was not just the sixth richest metro area in the U.S. last year, it also had the nation’s second lowest poverty rate, at just 7.1%. Anchorage is the economic center of Alaska, with more than 56% of state output coming from the area, according to IHS Global Insight. However, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Alaska was the only state where real GDP decreased in 2013, primarily due to a decline in mining that resulted from lower [production] on the state’s North Slope.” Oil production in the North Slope has dropped from more than 722 million barrels in 1998 to just 182 million last year.

5. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.
> Median household income: $77,363
> Population: 839,620
> Unemployment rate: 7.8% (116th highest)
> Poverty rate: 11.9% (46th lowest)

While high-income areas usually have strong job markets, the Oxnard metro area seems to be an outlier. The Oxnard’s metro area’s unemployment rate was 7.8% last year, higher than the national rate of 7.4%. Despite the relatively high unemployment, area residents were still quite wealthy. A typical household earned more than $77,000 last year, and 10.6% of households reported incomes of more than $200,000, also among the highest figures nationwide.

4. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.
> Median household income: $79,624
> Population: 4,516,276
> Unemployment rate: 6.6% (140th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 11.5% (43rd lowest)

Located in one of the nation’s most prominent technology centers, the San Francisco metro area has long been attractive for highly educated Americans seeking high paying employment. More than 45% of area residents had completed at least an undergraduate degree in 2013, versus less than 30% of all Americans.The information industry, as well as the professional, scientific, and management sector, together accounted for more than 21% of all employment in the area last year. Both industries had among the highest shares of local workers compared to other cities. High incomes likely drove up home prices, as the value of more than 17% of all owner-occupied housing units was at least $1 million last year, second only to San Jose. However, a shortfall in affordable housing may have also contributed to the area’s high housing values.

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3. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
> Median household income: $82,084
> Population: 939,904
> Unemployment rate: 7.2% (169th highest)
> Poverty rate: 9.6% (20th lowest)

More than 18% of households in the Bridgeport metro area reported income of at least $200,000 last year, the highest such rate in the nation. By comparison, just 5% of all U.S. households reported an income of $200,000 or more. One major reason for this is Bridgeport’s large presence in the U.S. financial industry. Financial sector jobs accounted for over 11% of employment in the area. However, the Bridgeport area also had the nation’s worst income inequality, with the highest Gini index coefficient of any metro area in America.

2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W. Va.
> Median household income: $90,149
> Population: 5,950,214
> Unemployment rate: 5.4% (58th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 8.5% (8th lowest)

Washington, D.C. was one of just two metro areas with a median household income of over $90,000 in 2013, alongside San Jose. More than one in five Washington, D.C. area residents were employed in professional, scientific or management professions, more than in any other metro area. As part of the metro area that consists the nation’s capital, the area offers many traditionally high-paying jobs in addition to government positions. These likely explain the exceptionally high earnings among residents. Nearly 14% of households earned more than $200,000 in 2013, more than in all but three other metro areas.

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1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
> Median household income: $91,533
> Population: 1,919,641
> Unemployment rate: 7.0% (175th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 10.5% (26th lowest)

San Jose is the richest metropolitan area in America, with a median household income of $91,533 in 2013. Further, more than 17% of households in the area earned at least $200,000 in 2013, behind only the Bridgeport metro area. San Jose is home to a highly skilled and well educated, workforce. Last year, 46.7% of residents 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree, one of the highest rates in the country. The continued strength of the technology sector is likely one factor pushing up incomes in the area. For example, last year major local employers Google and Apple alone awarded employees $3.2 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively, in stock-based compensation.