The 10 Richest Cities in California in 2026
California has the highest concentration of extreme wealth in the country, and almost all of it clusters in one place: the Silicon Valley peninsula south of San Francisco. The technology fortunes built over the past three decades reshaped a string of quiet suburbs into the most expensive residential real estate in America. Here are the ten richest cities in the state by Census income and home value, drawn from the full city income ranking.
One note before the list. The American Community Survey top-codes its highest values, which means it reports median household income above $250,001 and median home value above $2,000,001 rather than an exact figure, because so few households sit above those lines nationally that the survey cannot estimate them precisely. For the wealthiest California cities, the true numbers are higher than what the data can show. When you see those ceiling figures below, read them as "at least this much."
1. Atherton
Atherton is the wealthiest city in California and routinely the most expensive ZIP code in the United States. Both its median household income (above $250,001) and its median home value (above $2,000,001) sit at the Census ceiling, and its real figures are far above them. This is a town of roughly 7,000 people, almost entirely single-family estates on large lots, home to venture capitalists and technology executives. Its poverty rate is effectively a rounding error.
2. Hillsborough
Hillsborough, just south of San Francisco, matches Atherton at the income and home-value ceilings. It is an older-money town than the Silicon Valley arrivals, with grand estates dating to the early 20th century, and it has held its place near the top of the state for decades.
3. Los Altos
Los Altos, in the heart of Silicon Valley, also reports income above $250,001 and home value above $2,000,001 across a population of about 31,000. It is the larger, more suburban face of peninsula wealth, full of tech families who work at the companies a few miles away.
4. Saratoga
Saratoga, at the southwest edge of the valley, sits at both ceilings as well. Its median household income crossed $250,001 by 2024, up from $139,895 in 2000, a near doubling in a generation that tracks the technology boom precisely.
5. Cupertino
Cupertino, the home of Apple's headquarters, reports a median household income of $234,707 and a home value above $2,000,001. With nearly 59,000 residents it is one of the larger cities on this list, and it shows how a single dominant employer can lift an entire city's income profile.
6. Palo Alto
Palo Alto, home to Stanford University and the birthplace of much of Silicon Valley, reports a median household income of $231,101 and home value above the $2 million ceiling. Its income climbed from $90,377 in 2000, again roughly doubling as the valley's wealth compounded.
7. Los Gatos
Los Gatos, the affluent town at the valley's southern end and headquarters of Netflix, reports a median household income of $217,554 and a home value at the $2 million ceiling.
8. Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach is the first entry outside the Bay Area, a beach city in Los Angeles County with a median household income of $204,306 and home value above $2,000,001. It proves that Southern California can compete at the very top, though it stands nearly alone in doing so.
9. Newport Beach
Newport Beach, the Orange County harbor city, reports a median household income of $156,867 and a home value at the $2 million ceiling across nearly 84,000 residents. Its income is lower than the peninsula cities partly because it has a larger retired population, but its real estate is every bit as expensive.
10. Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is the most famous name on the list and, by median income, the lowest at $132,977. The gap is instructive. Beverly Hills has a large renter population and a wide income spread, which pulls the median down even though its home values sit at the $2 million ceiling and its highest earners are among the richest in the country. The median measures the middle household, not the celebrities.
What the list reveals
Nine of these ten cities sit within an hour of San Francisco, and the one that does not, Manhattan Beach, is the exception that proves the rule. California's extreme wealth is not spread across the state. It is concentrated on a narrow peninsula where the technology industry minted fortunes faster than anywhere else on earth. The home-value ceiling appears again and again because the actual prices have run past what the Census instrument is built to measure.
For the equivalent list in another state, see the richest cities in Texas, where the wealth spreads across the Dallas and Houston suburbs instead of clustering in one valley. You can put any two of these cities side by side with the Compare tool, or browse every California city on the California state page.
Sources
Figures in this article come from the following public datasets, accessed through CensusEasy:
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates: census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
- US Census Bureau, Decennial Census (1990 and 2000 summary files): census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html
- CensusEasy methodology and inflation adjustments: censuseasy.com/methodology
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What is the richest city in California?
Atherton is the richest city in California. Both its median household income and median home value sit above the Census top-coding ceilings of $250,001 and $2,000,001, and its true figures are far higher. It is regularly the most expensive ZIP code in the United States.
Why do California's richest cities show the same income and home value numbers?
The American Community Survey top-codes its highest values, reporting income above $250,001 and home value above $2,000,001 rather than exact figures. Several of California's wealthiest cities sit above both ceilings, so they appear identical in the data even though their real numbers differ.
Why is Beverly Hills lower on the list than Silicon Valley towns?
Beverly Hills has a large renter population and a wide income spread, which pulls its median household income down to about $132,977. The median reflects the middle household, not the wealthiest residents, so cities with more uniform high earners rank higher.
