What's the richest city in the united states
Executive summary
The title of "richest city in the United States" depends on the metric chosen: by total private wealth and sheer millionaire population, multiple wealth reports place New York City at the top (Henley & Partners; New World Wealth) and CNBC reiterates that New York leads U.S. wealthy-city rankings with roughly 350,000 millionaires and about 60 billionaires [1] [2]. By median household income, small suburban municipalities such as Los Altos, California, or Brookville/Scarsdale in New York emerge as the richest individual cities depending on the dataset and Census definitions used [3] [4].
1. Why “richest” is a question of definitions
Different outlets use different yardsticks: some media and wealth reports measure total private wealth and millionaire counts to crown a city wealthy, which favors large global capitals with concentrated finance and corporate headquarters such as New York City and the Bay Area [1] [2], while Census-based rankings and lists by outlets like 24/7 Wall St. and lifestyle magazines rank cities by median household income and therefore often put small, affluent suburbs like Los Altos at the top [3].
2. New York City: the heavyweight by private wealth and millionaire population
Several wealth studies and industry summaries consistently identify New York as the nation’s wealthiest city when counting millionaires and aggregate private wealth—reports cited by CNBC and Henley & Partners show New York holding the crown with roughly 349,500 millionaires and a leading concentration of billionaires, making it the dominant center for private wealth in the U.S. [1] [2].
3. The other end of the spectrum: richest by median household income
When the unit of analysis is median household income rather than total wealth, much smaller places can top the list: lifestyle and financial rankings have named Los Altos, California the richest city in some recent years based on Census five-year median-income estimates, and New York state local-data sites flag Brookville or Scarsdale as the highest-income municipalities in New York State depending on the dataset and population cutoff used [3] [4].
4. Regional patterns and what they reveal about wealth concentration
Analysts and compilations such as World Population Review and wealth-industry pieces note that the richest U.S. cities cluster in specific regions—New York and California dominate many top-100 lists, with a notable presence of wealthy suburbs and Sun Belt winners emerging in other rankings—illustrating that concentrated financial centers and affluent commuter suburbs both explain where wealth sits [5] [6].
5. Caveats, competing lists, and journalistic posture
Public-facing lists often differ because of methodology: some require a minimum population or number of households, others adjust for cost of living or look only at metropolitan GDP instead of household income, and corporate wealth studies focus on ultra-high-net-worth mobility and holdings—each choice shifts the “richest” label [7] [6]. Reporting that declares a single definitive richest city without specifying the metric risks conflating fundamentally different concepts of wealth; the sources consulted show this divergence repeatedly [8] [3].
6. Bottom line — the most defensible short answer
By measures of aggregate private wealth and millionaire population used by major wealth reports and financial press, New York City is the richest city in the United States [1] [2]; by median household income or per-household measures, small affluent municipalities such as Los Altos or Brookville/Scarsdale can claim the top spot depending on the dataset and cutoff rules [3] [4]. The precise answer therefore depends on whether the question seeks aggregated financial clout or the typical household’s income.