The Upper Class Has Taken Over These 15 Cities

The gap between the middle and upper class appears to be shrinking. This might seem surprising as nearly 70% of Americans identified as middle class in a Northwestern Mutual 2018 Planning & Progress study. However, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis, the number of adults living in middle-class households did drop from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021. Perhaps it’s because there is considerable income disparity across the country’s most popular cities.

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A recent Bloomberg analysis looked at income distribution across U.S. cities, and it painted an interesting picture regarding strong, albeit uneven, economic growth. With the middle-class shrinking, there has also been a shift for the lower- and upper-income tiers. As the middle class has shrunk, the number of adults in the upper-income tier has increased from 14% in 1971 to 21% in 2021, according to Pew. But so has the lower-income tier, which increased from 25% to 29%.

This could be the case for certain cities’ growth, especially ones fueled by industries on the rise, based on current economic trends. And it seems as if the upper class might be congregating in certain areas of the country, particularly the West Coast, and largely in California.

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GOBankingRates looked at all United States cities with above 40,000 households, as sourced from the 2020 American Community Surveys conducted by the United States Census Bureau, in order to find the 15 cities where the upper class has taken over, and what the 5-year percent change in households was. All data was compiled on and up to date as of February August 1, 2022. Some of America’s richest cities are in California, so it probably isn’t a surprise that eleven of the locales on this study’s list come from the Golden State. Well-known cities in Oregon and as well as one in Arizona.

Check out which cities across America have the most upper-class residents.

• Total households in 2020: 79,142
• Upper-class households in 2015: 18.8%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 33.4%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 77.66%

• Total households in 2020: 47,467
• Upper-class households in 2015: 29.3%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 45.3%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 54.61%

• Total households in 2020: 50,199
• Upper-class households in 2015: 20.4%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 31.0%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 51.96%

• Total households in 2020: 66,580
• Upper-class households in 2015: 26.0%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 39.4%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 51.54%

• Total households in 2020: 277,142
• Upper-class households in 2015: 24.1%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 36.4%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 51.04%

• Total households in 2020: 160,095
• Upper-class households in 2015: 27.3%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 41.1%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 50.55%

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• Total households in 2020: 79,486
• Upper-class households in 2015: 29.1%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 43.5%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 49.48%

• Total households in 2020: 187,683
• Upper-class households in 2015: 20.9%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 31.1%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 48.80%

• Total households in 2020: 46,983
• Upper-class households in 2015: 30.9%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 45.9%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 48.54%

• Total households in 2020: 61,111
• Upper-class households in 2015: 24.4%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 36.2%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 48.36%

• Total households in 2020: 41,026
• Upper-class households in 2015: 25.0%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 36.9%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 47.60%

• Total households in 2020: 90,663
• Upper-class households in 2015: 23.5%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 34.6%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 47.23%

• Total households in 2020: 287,756
• Upper-class households in 2015: 24.9%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 36.5%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 46.59%

• Total households in 2020: 41,863
• Upper-class households in 2015: 24.4%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 35.4%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 45.08%

• Total households in 2020: 48,724
• Upper-class households in 2015: 21.6%
• Upper-class households in 2020: 31.2%
• 5-year change in upper-class households: 44.44%

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Alexandria Bova contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: GOBankingRates looked at all United States cities with above 40,000 households, as sourced from the 2020 American Community Survey, in order to find the 15 cities where the upper class has taken over. GOBankingRates found what percent of each city’s households in 2020 would be considered upper class (earning above $100,000). The cities that had a percentage of upper class households greater than or equal to the national average were moved on to the next round of analysis. Those cities were then ranked on 5-year change in percentage of upper class households (2015 – 2020). The 15 cities with the greatest change were included in the final rankings. This was the only ranking factor and all data was collected from the 2015 and 2020 American Community Surveys conducted by the United States Census Bureau. Supplemental data for each city was found on the 5-year change in households making $100,000-$149,999, $150,000-$199,999, and $200,000+. All data was compiled on and up to date as of August 1, 2022.