Wealthiest Zip Codes in America

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Source: WonkBlog

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  1. cowboyinthejungle commented on May 11

    Yeah, not so sure what this is saying. As an Ohioan, I can tell you that Dayton is not where you would expect to find the wealthiest zip in the state, let alone the region. My guess is that a handful of military brass have a zipcode to themselves. Hardly worth a detailed infographic.

  2. theexpertisin commented on May 11

    There are pockets of extreme wealth even in relatively poor counties. Around southeast coastal North Carolina for instance there is substantial single wide-style poverty with a large majority of public school students on free/reduced lunch programs accompanied by the usual urban blight. Then, there are numerous gated communities with tens of thousands of retirees living in luxury and more thousands living their dream on ocean front estates where small lots can begin at a quarter million. Many own large sea worthy craft. The two hundred plus golf courses have a bountiful membership. Cultural pursuits abound. The education level and employment history of these folks is incredible. If one has a doctorate rest assured you are rarely the smartest person in the room.

    Since effective tax planning goes part and parcel with wealth, I would imagine that uber wealth is well hidden by bright financial planners and accountants. More than a few northern transplants in the region take pride in living substantially off the grid.

    Surely the above map is accurate to a large degree, but I would not bet my neighbors multi million dollar yacht that it showcases the many of enclaves where money resides.

  3. wrongwy commented on May 11

    Minneapolis 55440 is a p.o. box zipcode. The average income per household in 55415 is approximately $30,000, same as for 55402. The statistics in this infographic are faulty.

    • ministerofsillywalks commented on May 12

      Ironic that the map maker has “Data Quality” as their tag line!

  4. Clif Brown commented on May 11

    Something is definitely wrong here. In the Chicago area, no communities come close to the “North Shore” towns of of Kenilworth, Glencoe, Winnetka, with fabulous lake front estates. They are missing here, while Northbrook, never a big wealth town like the others, is included. What is the “income” that is being reported? As we know, the wealthy have ways of reducing huge incomes to small amounts for tax avoidance…did that trick the map-makers?

  5. kaleberg commented on May 11

    These are zip codes from tax filing addresses which leads to interesting artifacts. For example, 10104 is a single block, part of Rockefeller Center (between 5th & 6th, 51st & 52nd). The whole block is an office building complex. There are no apartments there unless someone is living semi-legally in his or her office. On the other hand, there are probably a few legal firms there who file returns for various wealthy clients. Zip code 10112, number three, is just part of the block south. In fact, it is 30 Rock.

    Zip code 10106 is also a single block. It’s between 7th & Broadway, between 56th & 57th. It’s all office buildings. I doubt the money is coming from Lee’s Art Supply. Maybe the source is Prince Street Capital Management, the Corcoran Group or the like. 10111 is similar. It includes the skating rink at Rockefeller Center and some of the next block to the north.

    Zip code 10167 offers another clue. It’s part of a block west of Lexington between 46th & 47th. That’s another office building, but Google Maps notes that the Major League Baseball Commissioner’s Office is located there. Major league baseball players are pretty well paid, so I’m guessing that a lot of them file their taxes using some address on this block. Since no one actually lives on the block, that would get some big income numbers.

    What we are seeing in NYC at least is an artifact of having huge office buildings, zip codes that cover a block or less, and clusters of highly paid workers. I’ll bet 30 Rock has some really well paid media executives and talent. Let’s face it. If you have a modest salary, odds are you file your taxes under your own name and address. If you are highly paid, there is a good chance you have an agent, manager, lawyer or the like and are using their office address as your tax address. Athletes, for example, almost always create a personal services corporation to wrap around themselves, and if it isn’t managed out of their employer’s office, it is probably managed by someone in the neighborhood.

  6. kaleberg commented on May 11

    By the way, that Miami zip code is Fisher Island. This is actually fun.

  7. OkieLawyer commented on May 12

    Earth City, Missouri, is actually an industrial park of corporate offices (think FedEx, UPS, and assorted products). If anyone lives there, it is probably a corporate officer living on the top floor of the building. To be quite frank, I did not even know there were any residences in Earth City.

    The real money here in St. Louis is in Ladue or Town and Country.

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