Top Metro Areas by High-Income Household Density Found Mainly on the Coasts

February 14, 2013

This article is included in these additional categories:

Household Income | Local & Directories / Small Biz

CensusBureau-Metro-Areas-High-Income-Household-Density-Feb2013The Census Bureau has released an American Community Survey brief [pdf] relating to the geographic spread of high-income households (those in the top 5% of income nationwide, or an annual household income of at least $191,469) during the 5-year period from 2007-2011. The study breaks down the top 25 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with the highest concentration of such households, revealing that a large proportion of these MSAs are on the coasts, in particular within the New England, Middle Atlantic, and Pacific divisions. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut MSA tops the list, with 17.9% of its households among the top 5% in the US. Following that MSA in the top 5 are:

  • San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (15.9%);
  • Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (14.1%);
  • San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (13%); and
  • Trenton-Ewing, NJ (11.6%).

The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (NY-NJ-PA) MSA (the largest in the US by population) just misses the top 5, with 10% of its households in the top 5% by household income. On the other end of the scale, Danville, IL and Danville, VA rank as the MSAs with the smallest proportion of high-income households, at just 1.1% each. A 2012 report from Nielsen found that “Mass Affluents” are concentrated less in old-money areas and the Sunbelt, and more in and around coastal metropolises. Nielsen defines Mass Affluents as having income-producing assets (IPAs) of between $250,000 and $1 million (excluding real estate). Those assets include, among others, stocks, 401(k)s and money market savings.

Other Findings:

  • The top 50 MSAs by population size (of 366 in total) accounted for 52% of all US households, but an outsized 72% of high-income households, per the Census Bureau data.
  • Within metropolitan areas, 6.1% of households in the suburbs were in the top 5%, compared to 4.9% in central cities.

About the Data: A full description of the Census Bureau’s methodology can be found in its brief (see link above).

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This