10 Cities With the Most New High-Income Households — and How Much It Costs To Live There
In a 2026 study, SmartAsset analyzed Census data to find the cities with the fastest growth in high-income households (defined as earning over $200,000). The top ten list doesn’t include traditional wealth enclaves — those wouldn't see the same percentage growth in high-income households, because they already have a lot.
The growth is a double-edged sword. Wealthy newcomers can boost local spending, but they can also push costs beyond what longtime residents can afford. Here are the ten cities seeing their wealth explode, and what it might mean for you.
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10 Cities With the Fastest Growth in High-Income Households
These ten cities saw the fastest growth in high-income households from 2023 to 2024 (the most recent Census Bureau data available):
Rank | City | Percentage growth in high-income households | Number of high-income households, 2024 | Portion of households that are high income, 2024 | Average home price | Median household income, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Waterbury, Connecticut | 271.40% | 2,295 | 5.20% | $287,970 | $47,881 |
2 | Inglewood, California | 88.90% | 4,241 | 10.20% | $766,920 | $69,362 |
3 | Montgomer, Alabama | 82.60% | 6,974 | 8.40% | $152,082 | $59,292 |
4 | Menifee, California | 82.00% | 6,428 | 16.20% | $586,841 | $103,609 |
5 | Albany, New York | 72.10% | 3,617 | 7.40% | $335,126 | $65,231 |
6 | Beaumont, Texas | 71.80% | 2,955 | 6.70% | $174,566 | $54,065 |
7 | Lakeland, Florida | 71.40% | 4,087 | 8.40% | $312,574 | $63,859 |
8 | Brandon, Florida | 68.80% | 6,423 | 13.50% | $359,210 | $80,980 |
8 | Columbia, Missouri | 68.80% | 5,755 | 10.80% | $327,680 | $80,543 |
8 | Odessa, Texas | 68.80% | 5,647 | 10.80% | $253,740 | $79,531 |
While homes in eight of the ten do cost less than the national average ($371,774 per Zillow), that doesn’t necessarily make them “affordable” based on local incomes. Inglewood is a particularly egregious example, where homes cost around 11 times local median incomes. Even in Waterbury, homes cost almost seven times the local median income.
10 Cities With the Most, New High-Income Households
Anthony Guerriero, certified public accountant (CPA) and managing partner at Manhattan Miami Real Estate, noted that the fastest growth doesn’t necessarily mean these cities are suddenly wealth hubs.
“Percentage growth will hand you the smallest starting points nearly every time. Run the same data on absolute counts and you'd have ten different cities.”
He’s right, of course. But by sorting the list by the absolute number of new high-income households, you mostly end up with the largest cities in the country:
City | Percentage growth in high-income households | Number of high-income households, 2024 | Number of high-income households, 2023 | New high-income households | Portion of households that are high income, 2024 | Median household income, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York, New York | 9.00% | 615,096 | 566,923 | 48,173 | 18.20% | $81,228 |
Chicago, Illinois | 15.70% | 181,731 | 157,997 | 23,734 | 15.50% | $80,613 |
San Diego, California | 14.60% | 132,392 | 114,494 | 17,898 | 24.40% | $111,032 |
Los Angeles, California | 5.00% | 248,786 | 233,627 | 15,159 | 16.80% | $82,263 |
San Jose, California | 13.50% | 125,696 | 110,630 | 15,066 | 37.90% | $148,226 |
Charlotte, North Carolina | 25.50% | 65,579 | 51,468 | 14,111 | 17.20% | $86,416 |
San Francisco, California | 9.20% | 136,837 | 125,373 | 11,464 | 36.80% | $139,801 |
Seattle, Washington | 4.80% | 117,412 | 106,471 | 10,941 | 30.60% | $118,745 |
Dallas, Texas | 14.30% | 73,075 | 63,871 | 9,204 | 13.60% | $74,323 |
Fort Worth, Texas | 17.30% | 44,213 | 36,025 | 8,188 | 12.20% | $82,503 |
It doesn’t make for a particularly interesting list, even if it does reflect the greatest overall numbers of new high-income households.
Advantages to Fast Wealth Growth
A surge in higher-income earners comes with its own pros and cons, especially for the smaller cities who saw a higher percentage increase.
First, they inject more money into the local economy. That boosts local businesses, adding prosperity to the community. It also lifts local property prices, which certainly makes existing homeowners happy. That new spending boosts sales taxes, and the higher housing prices boosts property taxes.
“High earners widen the tax base without costing civic services like schools in the same proportion, especially when they're older or the kids are grown,” explained Guerriero.
Plus, they pay more in income taxes, at least in states and cities that collect them.
The Dark Side to Fast Growth
While most existing homeowners welcome higher property values, first-time homebuyers and renters don’t. And it isn’t just higher home prices that can squeeze out local homebuyers.
“Once enough offers come in with no financing contingency, a local buyer who can genuinely afford the house still loses, because his offer is slower and has more conditions attached,” added Guerriero. “He didn't get priced out. He got structured out.”
Oh, and those higher property taxes that city governments love so much? They’re not so much fun for long-time residents.
“If you drive up a community's housing costs, you also drive up its taxes and insurance premiums,” said Cameron Walker of Clever Real Estate. Those rising ownership costs can eventually force existing homeowners to sell.
The higher cost of living eventually extends past housing costs. The supply of money and demand from those who have it can tilt local businesses to start catering to higher-income tastes — and pocketbooks. The corner diner serving cheap coffee could become a Starbucks.
If you’re a real estate investor looking for early indicators that a city could pop in home values, you could definitely do worse than keeping an eye on the percentage growth of high-income households.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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