The richest cities in America, and why half of the top 50 are in California

The richest city in America by median household income is Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle where the typical household earns $239,690 a year. That is nearly three times the national median of $80,734.

Among the 876 cities with at least 50,000 residents, the top of the list is dominated by one region. Ten of the 15 highest-income cities are in California's Bay Area, and 25 of the top 50 are in California.

What these places share is education. In Palo Alto and Cupertino, 82 percent of adults 25 and older have a bachelor's degree, and in Bethesda, 87 percent do. Nationally the figure is about one in three. Twelve of the top 15 are in the Bay Area or the Seattle suburbs.

High housing costs follow the high incomes. In Cupertino and Palo Alto the median home value is at least $2 million, the highest amount the Census Bureau will publish. Mountain View is at $1.93 million.

The richest big cities

Among cities with at least 250,000 people, San Jose leads at $146,427, followed by San Francisco at $140,970 and Irvine, California, at $136,719. Seattle is fourth at $123,860, followed by Gilbert, Arizona, at $122,551, Plano, Texas, at $112,253, Washington, D.C., at $109,870, and Chandler, Arizona, at $108,095.

At the other end

The lowest median incomes among cities of 50,000 or more are in older industrial cities of the Midwest and Northeast. Youngstown, Ohio, is lowest at $34,408, then Flint, Michigan, at $37,646, Gary, Indiana, at $38,731, Detroit at $39,938, and Camden, New Jersey, at $40,546. The gap between Sammamish and Youngstown is about seven to one.

State lists are in the richest cities in California, Texas, and New York, and county results in the richest counties in America. The full ranking is at cities with the highest median household income.

Sources

Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates: median household income (table B19013), educational attainment, and median home value (table B25077). The national median is the bureau's published figure for the United States. The list covers places with 50,000 or more residents, including census-designated places such as Bethesda, Maryland, which is not an incorporated city. Median home values of $2,000,000 are top-coded, so true values in those cities are higher. Dollar figures are not adjusted for local cost of living.