This Phoenix suburb was ranked the 5th wealthiest in America

The Valley has a lot of rapidly growing suburbs, but the original rich 'burb remains the richest.

July 2, 2024

Paradise Valley has a population of only 12,606, per the last census, but those people are loaded. Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

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The Valley is home to a lot of fast-growing, increasingly affluent suburbs. The East Valley suburbs continue to explode — The New Yorker recently turned its attention to Gilbert, although not for particularly happy reasons — and West Valley exurbs like Goodyear and Buckeye are getting only bigger and more populous.

But the richest suburb in the Phoenix metro area? We'll be surprised if you're surprised. And no, it's not Surprise.

Yep, it's Paradise Valley. According to GOBankingRates, the tiny suburb — population 12,606 in the 2020 census — ranks as the fifth-wealthiest suburb in the United States. Its average household income is $385,643 and the typical home value is $3,449,905.

GOBankingRates reached that determination by looking at all cities with at least 5,000 households and isolating the top 50 by highest average household income. It then sourced the 2024 typical home value and metro area location to rank them.

Here are the top 10 richest 'burbs in America.

1. Scarsdale, New York
Average household income: $568,942
Typical home value: $1,413,514

2. Rye, New York
Average household income: $405,074
Typical home value: $2,119,482

3. West University Place, Texas
Average household income: $403,845
Typical home value: $1,605,049

4. Los Altos, California
Average household income: $400,817
Typical home value: $4,451,059

5. Paradise Valley, Arizona
Average household income: $385,643
Typical home value: $3,449,905

6. University Park, Texas
Average household income: $381,235
Typical home value: $2,305,281

7. Hinsdale, Illinois
Average household income: $380,479
Typical home value: $1,088,871

8. Great Falls, Virginia
Average household income: $373,735
Typical home value: $1,564,775

9. Orinda, California
Average household income: $370,203
Typical home value: $2,078,615

10. Wellesley, Massachusetts
Average household income: $367,801
Typical home value: $1,979,339

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Zach Buchanan has been the news editor for the Phoenix New Times since April 2024. He's worked as a journalist in Phoenix for more than a decade, and is an alum of both The Athletic and the Arizona Republic. He's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and has taught as an associate professor at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Zach Buchanan

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