The Number of High-Income Households Is Growing the Most in These 10 Cities — Here’s Why

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High-income households are growing fast in some U.S. cities — and it’s not always in the places you’d expect. A recent SmartAsset study found that, from 2022 to 2023, several metro areas saw a notable increase in the number of households earning $200,000 or more.

Here’s where the biggest growth is happening and why.

Also see the seven cities where the number of high-income households is falling the most.

Palm Bay, Florida

• Percentage change in high-income households: 146.67%
• Number of high-income households added: 2,403
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 7.4%

Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Percentage change in high-income households: 119.35%
• Number of high-income households added: 1,676
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 6.8%

Paradise, Nevada

• Percentage change in high-income households: 114.71%
• Number of high-income households added: 2,929
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 7.3%

Brownsville, Texas

• Percentage change in high-income households: 112.50%
• Number of high-income households added: 1,274
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 3.4%

Lynn, Massachusetts

• Percentage change in high-income households: 111.12%
• Number of high-income households added: 2,682
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 14.0%

Bridgeport, Connecticut

• Percentage change in high-income households: 76.92%
• Number of high-income households added: 1,553
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 6.9%

Nampa, Idaho

• Percentage change in high-income households: 70.83%
• Number of high-income households added: 747
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 4.1%

Coral Springs, Florida

• Percentage change in high-income households: 70.71%
• Number of high-income households added: 3,381
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 16.9%

Norman, Oklahoma

• Percentage change in high-income households: 70.18%
• Number of high-income households added: 2,295
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 9.7%

Evansville, Indiana

• Percentage change in high-income households: 68.00%
• Number of high-income households added: 817
• Percentage of households earnings $200,000-plus: 4.2%

Why High-Income Household Growth Is Up in These Cities

Some cities on this list added high-income households even though they had fewer households overall. Bridgeport is one example. Between 2022 and 2023, it lost more than 2,200 households but still gained over 1,500 households earning $200,000 or more. Due to the city having fewer households overall, that growth could have come from people already living there who saw their incomes go up rather than new high earners moving in.

Other cities, like Palm Bay, added more than 6,000 total households in one year, including over 2,400 high-income ones. That suggests both population and income growth are happening at the same time.

In cities like Brownsville, the overall median household income is just under $50,000. In 2022, only 1.6% of 56,576 households earned $200,000 or more, which came out to 905 households. By 2023, the percentage rose to 3.4% of 64,083 households, equaling 2,179. When the starting percentage (1.6%) is that low, it doesn’t take a huge number of new high earners to more than double the high-income share (3.4%), which is exactly what happened.

Overall, the numbers show that, in some cities, residents are earning more than they used to. In others, higher earners may be moving in. Either way, households in the $200,000-and-higher range are increasing. 

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