9 California Cities Among 10 Wealthiest In The USA: Report

‘Wealthiest’ Cities: How Income, Home Values and Credit Limits Stack Up Around the US

COURTNEY MILLER & VERONICA RAMIREZMay 23, 2016 Personal Finance

Wealth is relative to where you live. Some folks in San Francisco could have mortgage payments that force them to pinch pennies, even though their income would have them living large in Evanston, Illinois.

So where are people actually wealthy in terms of income, home value and credit availability? To find out, NerdWallet analyzed 475 American cities with at least 65,000 people. We looked at:

• The median household income and percent of homes without amortgage, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey.
• The monthly median home value as reported in February 2016 by Zillow Research.
• The average credit limit for credit card holders as reported in 2016 by credit bureau Experian.

NerdWallet’s analysis

California cities were at the top of every category, and nine of the 10 of what our analysis is terming the “wealthiest” cities in the nation were in California. one Southern city made the top 10: Bethesda, Maryland. Its median home value of $808,800 topped that of several California cities in the top 10, and the city placed second among all cities measured for average credit limit and median household income.

The average credit card limit offers insight into how much credit an average resident has access to from day to day. The average credit limit for all 475 cities measured was around $35,800. Newport Beach, California, ranked highest, with an average credit limit of almost $83,000 for credit card holders. While Californians could access more credit than cardholders anywhere else, the average credit limit for the top 10 cities in each region fell between $45,000 and $69,000. Northeasterners had the lowest credit limits, with four of the top 10 cities in that region falling below $40,000.

Midwestern cities were among the most affordable for housing. The Midwest top 10 contains five suburbs of Chicago, which is the third most populous city in America. These suburbs had lower median home values and strong median household incomes compared with the rest of the country. This means residents of these places spend less on housing, giving them more buying power compared with other regions.

Let’s take a look, region by region:

Wealthiest cities in the Northeast

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

RANK	CITY	MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME	MEDIAN HOME VALUE	PERCENT OF HOMES WITH NO MORTGAGE	AVERAGE CREDIT LIMIT	TOTAL SCORE

1.	Newton, Massachusetts	$102,796	$886,400	35%	$70,822	82.82
2.	Stamford, Connecticut	$88,686	$447,900	28%	$50,904	64.13
3.	New Rochelle, New York	$72,353	$629,600	32%	$52,159	59.71
4.	Cambridge, Massachusetts	$84,249	$649,000	32%	$39,997	58.80
5.	Norwalk, Connecticut	$75,285	$373,300	27%	$47,736	56.91
6.	Framingham, Massachusetts	$64,213	$347,200	27%	$45,891	51.17
7.	Somerville, Massachusetts	$74,048	$537,500	30%	$31,967	50.40
8.	Boston, Massachusetts	$56,902	$480,000	25%	$33,548	50.38
9.	Danbury, Connecticut	$69,394	$245,700	26%	$38,628	47.48
10.	Toms River, New Jersey	$72,236	$251,700	31%	$46,642	46.97
11.	Brentwood, New York	$65,032	$243,500	19%	$21,254	46.25
12.	Quincy, Massachusetts	$68,409	$375,400	31%	$36,363	44.50
13.	Nashua, New Hampshire	$70,521	$236,800	30%	$40,113	44.30
14.	Warwick, Rhode Island	$64,455	$187,600	28%	$40,600	42.79
15.	Jersey City, New Jersey	$60,497	$346,500	26%	$27,169	42.61
16.	Clifton, New Jersey	$67,191	$304,200	32%	$37,260	41.70
17.	New York, New York	$52,996	$614,500	38%	$41,038	41.43
18.	Lynn, Massachusetts	$52,481	$271,200	23%	$25,725	40.32
19.	Manchester, New Hampshire	$53,082	$196,900	26%	$32,575	38.94
20.	Cranston, Rhode Island	$51,520	$208,500	30%	$44,943	38.92

In the Northeast, Newton, a suburb west of Boston, topped the list. Newton’s high average credit limit and high median home value placed it well ahead of the other top 10 cities. The average credit limit in Newton was $70,822, almost $19,000 higher than the city with the next highest figure, New Rochelle. Newton’s median home value was $886,400 — over $200,000 more than Cambridge, which had the second-highest median home value in the Northeast, at $649,000.

Boston and its suburbs comprise half of the top 10 in the Northeast. Three of the Massachusetts cities are college towns: Cambridge is home to MIT and Harvard; Somerville to the research university Tufts; and Boston to Boston University.

Connecticut took three spots in the Northeast’s top 10. All three cities — Stamford, Norwalk and Danbury — are in Fairfield County and are part of the New York metropolitan area. Each of these cities is home to at least one Fortune 500 company. Charter Communications is headquartered in Stamford, Xerox has its main offices in Norwalk, and industrial gas company Praxair is in Danbury.

Wealthiest cities in the South

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

RANK	CITY	MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME	MEDIAN HOME VALUE	PERCENT OF HOMES WITH NO MORTGAGE	AVERAGE CREDIT LIMIT	TOTAL SCORE

1.	Bethesda, Maryland	$149,623	$808,800	33%	$78,539	86.62
2.	Ellicott City, Maryland	$114,801	$488,200	23%	$65,738	69.24
3.	Arlington, Virginia	$109,266	$606,400	21%	$46,720	64.83
4.	Flower Mound, Texas	$125,378	$337,900	19%	$51,142	62.20
5.	Centreville, Virginia	$102,331	$376,200	9%	$45,725	61.81
6.	Frisco, Texas	$115,603	$359,100	16%	$43,985	59.79
7.	Alexandria, Virginia	$86,809	$491,600	20%	$44,557	55.91
8.	Mount Pleasant, South Carolina	$82,358	$388,800	21%	$55,029	55.49
9.	Columbia, Maryland	$99,719	$329,700	19%	$47,884	55.20
10.	Rockville, Maryland	$90,606	$458,900	26%	$50,497	55.05
11.	Franklin, Tennessee	$80,536	$393,400	23%	$56,078	54.85
12.	Gaithersburg, Maryland	$79,988	$338,300	17%	$50,023	53.72
13.	Allen, Texas	$102,466	$272,000	17%	$44,377	53.61
14.	Cary, North Carolina	$92,000	$306,700	21%	$51,651	53.47
15.	Roswell, Georgia	$80,125	$324,500	23%	$57,312	52.78
16.	Germantown, Maryland	$82,527	$282,600	12%	$39,444	50.30
17.	Waldorf, Maryland	$80,069	$262,100	9%	$31,851	47.67
18.	Silver Spring, Maryland	$72,412	$364,300	22%	$38,271	45.14
19.	Frederick, Maryland	$69,476	$252,700	17%	$40,335	44.50
20.	Pearland, Texas	$101,211	$216,400	24%	$35,335	43.98

Bethesda claimed the top spot in this category. The median income for Bethesda households was almost $150,000, the second-highest of all U.S. cities reviewed for this study. It trailed only Newport Beach, California, for the highest average credit limit for credit card holders. And Bethesda’s median home value was $808,800, the highest among any Southern city by a mile. only Arlington came close, with a median home value of $606,400, still just 75% of the median in Bethesda.

Bethesda is home to the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, as well as hospitality companies Host Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Ritz-Carlton. Nearby Rockville is home to Choice Hotels and other hospitality and health companies.

Bethesda, Arlington and Alexandria are all “inside the Beltway,” which means they’re within Interstate 495 near Washington, D.C. Arlington is home to federal government agencies, including the Department of Defense, and Alexandria is the location of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Wealthiest cities in the Midwest

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

RANK	CITY	MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME	MEDIAN HOME PRICE	PERCENT OF HOMES WITH NO MORTGAGE	AVERAGE CREDIT LIMIT	TOTAL SCORE

1.	Naperville, Illinois	$104,419	$364,300	23%	$67,075	93.06
2.	Carmel, Indiana	$109,375	$296,600	22%	$62,910	88.41
3.	Arlington Heights, Illinois	$78,988	$312,000	33%	$57,426	70.89
4.	Evanston, Illinois	$73,671	$315,600	28%	$53,502	70.60
5.	Fishers, Indiana	$91,262	$209,700	15%	$40,441	69.97
6.	Troy, Michigan	$83,921	$269,100	31%	$48,941	66.43
7.	Palatine, Illinois	$70,328	$237,900	28%	$54,063	64.57
8.	Olathe, Kansas	$77,008	$204,300	18%	$38,164	62.52
9.	Bolingbrook, Illinois	$73,333	$197,400	15%	$36,439	62.44
10.	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$60,337	$320,900	32%	$43,296	60.19
11.	Skokie, Illinois	$76,867	$255,300	35%	$45,716	58.93
12.	Schaumburg, Illinois	$71,946	$207,100	28%	$46,056	58.86
13.	Minneapolis, Minnesota	$50,791	$206,700	24%	$40,204	52.30
14.	Waukesha, Wisconsin	$57,179	$190,000	25%	$39,104	51.69
15.	Aurora, Illinois	$68,304	$152,800	18%	$28,863	51.65
16.	Madison, Wisconsin	$55,829	$209,200	27%	$34,625	49.40
17.	Livonia, Michigan	$68,668	$168,100	32%	$37,554	47.98
18.	Bismarck, North Dakota	$60,752	$264,400	41%	$37,971	47.46
19.	Elgin, Illinois	$60,810	$158,900	24%	$28,787	46.10
20.	Bloomington, Illinois	$59,614	$152,300	30%	$35,777	44.91

Chicago is the largest city in the Midwest, and five of its suburbs —Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, Evanston, Naperville and Palatine — made the region’s top 10. The Midwest is the most affordable region if you’re looking to live in one of the wealthiest cities. Modest home values characterize the Midwest; all of the cities in the top 10 had a median home value between $197,000 and $365,000. It may not sound “modest” to everyone, but Naperville’s median home value, at close to $365,000, is less than half that of Carlsbad, California, the city with the lowest median home value in the West’s top 10.

Based on these home values, one might assume that median household income in the Midwest would also be lower, but income for all of the top 10 Midwest cities was competitive with that of other cities at the top of our lists.

Wealthiest cities in the West

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

RANK	CITY	MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME	MEDIAN HOME VALUE	PERCENT OF HOMES WITH NO MORTGAGE	AVERAGE CREDIT LIMIT	TOTAL SCORE

1.	Palo Alto, California	$151,370	$2,503,600	34%	$71,696	79.80
2.	San Ramon, California	$135,355	$931,300	12%	$64,392	72.38
3.	Pleasanton, California	$122,652	$961,000	19%	$73,557	69.06
4.	Newport Beach, California	$106,801	$1,561,400	31%	$82,811	66.94
5.	Yorba Linda, California	$117,368	$781,500	19%	$72,395	65.20
6.	Laguna Niguel, California	$96,732	$776,600	18%	$72,823	61.98
7.	Redondo Beach, California	$110,451	$916,300	20%	$55,991	58.71
8.	Redwood City, California	$87,255	$1,247,200	24%	$67,102	58.34
9.	Carlsbad, California	$104,424	$740,200	21%	$62,555	57.25
10.	San Clemente, California	$98,710	$851,200	24%	$66,663	56.70
11.	Thousand Oaks, California	$97,291	$668,800	21%	$66,748	56.63
12.	Fremont, California	$106,921	$890,400	23%	$56,099	55.41
13.	San Mateo, California	$101,229	$1,044,000	28%	$62,380	55.06
14.	Mission Viejo, California	$103,607	$659,600	21%	$57,869	54.47
15.	Mountain View, California	$100,318	$1,417,700	29%	$51,032	53.56
16.	Chino Hills, California	$99,601	$586,600	17%	$51,321	53.22
17.	Santa Monica, California	$82,096	$1,311,300	28%	$58,745	52.28
18.	Lake Forest, California	$96,655	$649,100	17%	$46,927	51.74
19.	Irvine, California	$90,743	$784,500	22%	$55,715	51.37
20.	Livermore, California	$87,815	$692,300	18%	$52,010	51.29

In the Western states, California dominated the list of wealthiest cities. At the top was Palo Alto, home to Stanford University and tech companies such as Tesla Motors, VMware and Palantir Technologies. The rest of the cities were divided among the San Francisco Bay Area — San Ramon, Pleasanton and Redwood City are all home to tech companies and their executives — and Southern California. Four cities in Orange County made the list: Newport Beach, Yorba Linda, Laguna Niguel and San Clemente.

The average credit limit for Newport Beach residents was $82,811, almost $10,000 higher than Pleasanton, the West’s runner-up in that category. Palo Alto boasted the highest median home value among all the U.S. cities analyzed, at $2.5 million. Despite that high price tag, 34% of those homes were owned without a mortgage, the highest percentage in the West’s top 10 and comparable to any other region in the country. In San Ramon, only 12% of homes were mortgage-free, which was the second-lowest among all Western cities and fourth-lowest nationwide.

Wealthiest cities nationwide

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the nation’s top 100 cities.

RANK	CITY	MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME	MEDIAN HOME VALUE	PERCENT OF HOMES WITH NO MORTGAGE	AVERAGE CREDIT LIMIT	TOTAL SCORE

1	Palo Alto, California	$151,370	$2,503,600	34%	$71,696	81.94
2	San Ramon, California	$135,355	$931,300	12%	$64,392	72.68
3	Pleasanton, California	$122,652	$961,000	19%	$73,557	70.25
4	Newport Beach, California	$106,801	$1,561,400	31%	$82,811	69.61
5	Bethesda, Maryland	$149,623	$808,800	33%	$78,539	67.60
6	Yorba Linda, California	$117,368	$781,500	19%	$72,395	66.64
7	Laguna Niguel, California	$96,732	$776,600	18%	$72,823	63.56
8	Redwood City, California	$87,255	$1,247,200	24%	$67,101	60.77
9	Redondo Beach, California	$110,451	$916,300	20%	$55,991	60.45
10	Carlsbad, California	$104,424	$740,200	21%	$62,555	59.23
11	San Clemente, California	$98,710	$851,200	24%	$66,663	59.05
12	Ellicott City, Maryland	$114,801	$488,200	23%	$65,738	58.90
13	Thousand Oaks, California	$97,291	$668,800	21%	$66,748	58.69
14	San Mateo, California	$101,229	$1,044,000	28%	$62,380	57.82
15	Fremont, California	$106,921	$890,400	23%	$56,099	57.64
16	Mission Viejo, California	$103,607	$659,600	21%	$57,869	56.54
17	Mountain View, California	$100,318	$1,417,700	29%	$51,032	56.50
18	Flower Mound, Texas	$125,378	$337,900	19%	$51,142	56.07
19	Naperville, Illinois	$104,419	$364,300	23%	$67,075	55.80
20	Newton, Massachusetts	$102,796	$886,400	35%	$70,822	55.71
21	Centreville, Virginia	$102,331	$376,200	9%	$45,725	55.44
22	Carmel, Indiana	$109,375	$296,600	22%	$62,910	55.41
23	Santa Monica, California	$82,096	$1,311,300	28%	$58,745	55.31
24	Chino Hills, California	$99,601	$586,600	17%	$51,321	54.94
25	Sunnyvale, California	$104,681	$1,366,400	32%	$48,781	54.53
26	Irvine, California	$90,743	$784,500	22%	$55,715	53.79
27	Frisco, Texas	$115,603	$359,100	16%	$43,985	53.73
28	Lake Forest, California	$96,655	$649,100	17%	$46,927	53.52
29	Livermore, California	$87,815	$692,300	18%	$52,010	53.30
30	Arlington, Virginia	$109,266	$606,400	21%	$46,720	52.96
31	Kirkland, Washington	$94,332	$521,500	22%	$56,462	52.35
32	Milpitas, California	$102,917	$818,100	24%	$45,904	51.72
33	Folsom, California	$100,348	$467,100	18%	$45,719	51.35
34	Bellevue, Washington	$95,146	$660,400	31%	$62,439	50.88
35	Alameda, California	$86,888	$845,900	27%	$53,547	50.21
36	San Francisco, California	$85,070	$1,115,700	30%	$51,473	50.01
37	Columbia, Maryland	$99,719	$329,700	19%	$47,884	49.82
38	Santa Clara, California	$91,080	$988,500	25%	$43,738	49.81
39	Allen, Texas	$102,466	$272,000	17%	$44,377	49.73
40	San Jose, California	$87,210	$810,000	24%	$48,324	49.46
41	Santa Barbara, California	$62,340	$1,073,000	30%	$63,122	49.39
42	Santa Clarita, California	$81,577	$468,300	18%	$48,865	48.75
43	Mount Pleasant, South Carolina	$82,358	$388,800	21%	$55,029	48.55
44	Cary, North Carolina	$92,000	$306,700	21%	$51,651	48.508
45	Simi Valley, California	$82,168	$514,200	19%	$47,948	48.507
46	Gaithersburg, Maryland	$79,988	$338,300	17%	$50,023	48.29
47	Camarillo, California	$85,640	$564,600	26%	$55,631	48.23
48	Huntington Beach, California	$84,915	$735,600	29%	$55,065	48.21
49	Franklin, Tennessee	$80,536	$393,400	23%	$56,078	47.77
50	Temecula, California	$80,753	$408,400	13%	$40,141	47.76
51	Berkeley, California	$70,364	$1,001,700	31%	$55,700	47.33
52	Roswell, Georgia	$80,125	$324,500	23%	$57,312	47.22
53	Alexandria, Virginia	$86,809	$491,600	20%	$44,557	47.14
54	South San Francisco, California	$86,191	$812,000	29%	$49,053	46.99
55	Walnut Creek, California	$76,311	$781,600	37%	$67,019	46.88
56	Germantown, Maryland	$82,527	$282,600	12%	$39,444	46.75
57	Rockville, Maryland	$90,606	$458,900	26%	$50,497	46.64
58	Fishers, Indiana	$91,262	$209,700	15%	$40,441	46.35
59	Union City, California	$83,861	$707,800	26%	$46,887	46.28
60	Orange, California	$75,803	$613,000	22%	$46,586	46.03
61	Gilbert, Arizona	$84,153	$282,300	14%	$39,358	45.94
62	Scottsdale, Arizona	$73,387	$412,400	30%	$65,004	45.73
63	Pasadena, California	$70,873	$714,900	25%	$50,607	45.72
64	Stamford, Connecticut	$88,686	$447,900	28%	$50,904	45.26
65	Waldorf, Maryland	$80,069	$262,100	9%	$31,851	45.08
66	Elk Grove, California	$81,768	$360,000	15%	$35,990	44.37
67	Tustin, California	$67,344	$638,500	21%	$43,657	44.21
68	Rancho Cucamonga, California	$71,742	$445,200	16%	$39,123	43.95
69	Daly City, California	$80,885	$750,300	27%	$40,918	43.59
70	Burbank, California	$65,398	$691,400	23%	$44,060	43.48
71	Tracy, California	$77,798	$413,700	15%	$33,154	43.42
72	Roseville, California	$80,658	$390,900	22%	$42,575	43.26
73	Boulder, Colorado	$62,797	$631,200	32%	$60,206	42.77
74	Chandler, Arizona	$73,062	$265,300	18%	$41,883	42.67
75	Seattle, Washington	$70,975	$536,700	25%	$46,047	42.14
76	League City, Texas	$98,578	$214,900	22%	$35,266	41.99
77	Pearland, Texas	$101,211	$216,400	24%	$35,335	41.95
78	New Rochelle, New York	$72,353	$629,600	32%	$52,159	41.92
79	Torrance, California	$80,198	$730,500	31%	$44,209	41.85
80	Napa, California	$68,307	$537,600	27%	$48,385	41.81
81	Frederick, Maryland	$69,476	$252,700	17%	$40,335	41.767
82	Bolingbrook, Illinois	$73,333	$197,400	15%	$36,439	41.6995
83	Corona, California	$69,407	$416,500	16%	$34,856	41.6991
84	Evanston, Illinois	$73,671	$315,600	28%	$53,502	41.47
85	Arlington Heights, Illinois	$78,988	$312,000	33%	$57,426	41.46
86	Chino, California	$79,218	$426,100	19%	$33,263	41.44
87	Lakewood, California	$81,106	$502,700	24%	$36,249	41.29
88	Norwalk, Connecticut	$75,285	$373,300	27%	$47,736	41.20
89	Olathe, Kansas	$77,008	$204,300	18%	$38,164	41.13
90	Murrieta, California	$76,766	$371,200	19%	$34,675	41.07
91	Renton, Washington	$67,626	$359,600	22%	$43,273	40.67
92	Palatine, Illinois	$70,328	$237,900	28%	$54,063	40.66
93	Sandy, Utah	$83,399	$266,100	27%	$44,244	40.35
94	Virginia Beach, Virginia	$68,816	$248,500	20%	$41,826	40.16
95	Glendale, California	$51,020	$718,600	24%	$43,563	40.14
96	Costa Mesa, California	$66,820	$698,000	25%	$38,261	40.12
97	Troy, Michigan	$83,921	$269,100	31%	$48,941	40.11
98	Cambridge, Massachusetts	$84,249	$649,000	32%	$39,997	39.95
99	Silver Spring, Maryland	$72,412	$364,300	22%	$38,271	39.90
100	San Diego, California	$67,799	$531,700	25%	$40,966	39.84

Methodology

We analyzed data from 475 U.S. cities with populations of at least 65,000 that had data available for all four categories. We calculated overall scores using four measures, each weighted as 25% of the score:

• Average credit limit for those with credit cards as of 2016 was taken from the latest data reported by Experian.
• Monthly median home value in a particular geographical region in February 2016 as reported by Zillow Research.
• Median household income, from the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
• Percentage of homes without a mortgage, also from the 2014 American Community Survey.

Courtney Miller is a data analyst at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: courtney.miller@nerdwallet.com. Veronica Ramirez is a staff writer at NerdWallet. Email: vramirez@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:@veraudrey

Palo Alto, San Ramon, Pleasanton, Newport Beach and Yorba Linda are the five wealthiest communities in America, according to a new report.

Palo Alto, CA

By DAVE COLBY (Patch Staff) - May 26, 2016 12:09 pm ET 

PALO ALTO - Palo Alto, San Ramon, Pleasanton, Newport Beach and Yorba Linda are the five wealthiest communities in America, according to a new report issued this week.

The report says Palo Alto is the wealthiest American community of all towns that have a population of at least 65,000 citizens.

According to NerdWallet research, the median household income for Palo Alto residents is $151,370. The median home value is $2,503,600.

More than one third of Palo Alto residents - 34 perecent - have no mortgage. And the average credit limit for those roaming downtown's University Avenue is $71,696.

Those four pieces of aggregated data give Palo Alto a #1 ranking for American well-to-do towns, according to NerdWallet.

California cities led all four categories when comparing similar data to the rest of the country.

Nine of the 10 NerdWallet-termed “wealthiest” cities in the nation were in California. one Southern city made the top 10: Bethesda, Maryland.

San Ramon was ranked the second most affluent city in the United States. The median household income in the East Bay city is $135,355.

The California cities of Pleasanton, Newport Beach and Yorba Linda round out the top five communities of the well-to-do in America.

Newport Beach ranked highest in the country in average credit limits, almost $83,000 for credit card holders. The median home value in the seaside community is $1,561,400.

You can read the full NerdWallet report here.

Nerdwallet lists the following information as the statistical basis for their findings:

Methodology

We analyzed data from 475 U.S. cities with populations of at least 65,000 that had data available for all four categories. We calculated overall scores using four measures, each weighted as 25% of the score:

• Average credit limit for those with credit cards as of 2016 was taken from the latest data reported by Experian.
• Monthly median home value in a particular geographical region in February 2016 as reported by Zillow Research.
• Median household income, from the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
• Percentage of homes without a mortgage, also from the 2014 American Community Survey.