Key Takeaways
- Fisher Island, FL is #1. The private island off Miami Beach (ZIP 33109) reports an average income of about $4.4 million per tax return โ comfortably the highest-earning ZIP code in America.
- Florida takes the top spots. Fisher Island, Palm Beach ($3.0M) and Naples ($1.7M) lead the country, reflecting a wave of ultra-wealthy relocation to no-income-tax Florida.
- Silicon Valley is the other pole. Palo Alto (94301/94304) and Atherton each average about $1.6M โ tech wealth concentrated on the San Francisco peninsula.
- A handful of enclaves. Beyond Florida and the Bay Area, the list is dotted with old-money suburbs: Kenilworth (IL), Gladwyne (PA), Short Hills (NJ), Medina (WA) and Purchase (NY).
- Mean vs median. This ranks by average income, which a few billionaires can skew. By typical (median) household income, Atherton, CA is usually #1.
Where do America’s highest earners actually live? Using IRS tax data โ the average adjusted gross income reported per return in every ZIP code โ the answer splits cleanly between two worlds: billionaire enclaves in no-income-tax Florida and tech wealth on the San Francisco peninsula. Here are the 25 highest-earning ZIP codes in the country.
The highest-earning ZIP codes in the U.S., mapped
Ranked: the top 15
Florida’s rise is the headline. Fisher Island โ a 216-acre private island reachable only by ferry or yacht โ averages about $4.4 million per return, nearly 50% more than second-place Palm Beach. Naples rounds out a Florida top three, a sign of how many ultra-high earners have moved to a state with no income tax. Silicon Valley supplies the next tier: Palo Alto and neighbouring Atherton, where startup equity and tech executive pay push averages to ~$1.6M.
Full list: the 25 richest ZIP codes
| # | Place | ZIP | Avg. income (AGI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fisher Island, FL | 33109 | $4.40M |
| 2 | Palm Beach, FL | 33480 | $3.04M |
| 3 | Naples, FL | 34102 | $1.68M |
| 4 | Palo Alto, CA | 94301 | $1.64M |
| 5 | Palo Alto (Stanford), CA | 94304 | $1.60M |
| 6 | Atherton, CA | 94027 | $1.59M |
| 7 | Mill Neck, NY | 11765 | $1.34M |
| 8 | Century City, LA | 90067 | $1.27M |
| 9 | Kenilworth, IL | 60043 | $1.20M |
| 10 | Gladwyne, PA | 19035 | $1.20M |
| 11 | Medina, WA | 98039 | $1.19M |
| 12 | Miami Beach, FL | 33140 | $1.12M |
| 13 | Glenbrook, NV | 89413 | $1.09M |
| 14 | Short Hills, NJ | 07078 | $1.04M |
| 15 | Purchase, NY | 10577 | $990k |
| 16 | ZIP 78746, TX | 78746 | $987k |
| 17 | Portola Valley, CA | 94028 | $981k |
| 18 | ZIP 83025, WY | 83025 | $961k |
| 19 | ZIP 02493, MA | 02493 | $921k |
| 20 | San Francisco, CA | 94104 | $900k |
| 21 | ZIP 10007, NY | 10007 | $895k |
| 22 | ZIP 02108, MA | 02108 | $869k |
| 23 | Belvedere/Tiburon, CA | 94920 | $866k |
| 24 | ZIP 83014, WY | 83014 | $861k |
| 25 | Los Altos, CA | 94022 | $840k |
A closer look: how each ZIP got so rich
1. Fisher Island, FL (33109) โ $4.4M
A 216-acre private island off Miami Beach reachable only by ferry or private boat โ originally a Vanderbilt winter estate. The total lack of public access keeps it ultra-exclusive, and residents (financiers, executives and the occasional celebrity) are drawn by privacy and Florida’s lack of state income tax. It is consistently the highest-income ZIP code in America.
2. Palm Beach, FL (33480) โ $3.0M
The barrier-island enclave built by railroad magnate Henry Flagler in the Gilded Age and long a winter haven for old money. It is home to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and, in recent years, a wave of billionaire and hedge-fund arrivals relocating to tax-friendly Florida.
3. Naples, FL (34102) โ $1.7M
A Gulf-coast city of golf courses, marinas and beachfront estates that has become a magnet for wealthy retirees and chief executives. It posts one of the highest concentrations of millionaires per capita in the country.
4. Palo Alto, CA (94301) โ $1.6M
The civic heart of Silicon Valley, next door to Stanford โ and quite literally the birthplace of the tech industry (the HP Garage here is regarded as its origin point). It is home to founders, venture capitalists and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg’s longtime Crescent Park residence; startup equity pushes incomes far above ordinary salaries.
5. Palo Alto / Stanford, CA (94304) โ $1.6M
The Stanford University area and Stanford Research Park, ringed by the venture-capital firms of nearby Sand Hill Road. Academic prestige and proximity to the Valley’s biggest companies concentrate extraordinary wealth in a small footprint.
6. Atherton, CA (94027) โ $1.6M
For years the most expensive town in America by home price โ a quiet, heavily wooded enclave of gated estates between Palo Alto and Menlo Park. It is home to tech leaders (Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt among reported residents) and a great deal of understated money.
7. Mill Neck, NY (11765) โ $1.3M
A tiny village on Long Island’s โGold Coast,โ the North Shore stretch of grand estates that inspired The Great Gatsby. Old-money mansions and waterfront seclusion define it.
8. Century City, LA (90067) โ $1.3M
A cluster of luxury high-rise towers built on the former 20th Century Fox backlot in West Los Angeles โ home to entertainment executives, talent agents and finance, with some of the priciest condominiums in the city.
9. Kenilworth, IL (60043) โ $1.2M
The wealthiest of Chicago’s North Shore suburbs: a small lakefront village of historic mansions laid out as a planned community in the 1890s. (Pictured: the landmark Bahรกสผรญ House of Worship in neighbouring Wilmette, a defining sight of the North Shore.)
10. Gladwyne, PA (19035) โ $1.2M
The richest community on Philadelphia’s โMain Line,โ the chain of affluent railroad suburbs west of the city โ old Philadelphia money set in large, wooded estates.
About the data
Figures are the average adjusted gross income (AGI) per tax return in each ZIP code, from the IRS Statistics of Income program (tax year 2022, the latest available), limited to ZIP codes with at least 200 returns. AGI is income reported to the IRS before deductions. Note that a mean is pulled upward by a handful of ultra-high earners โ so enclaves with a few billionaires (Fisher Island, Palm Beach) can outrank places where nearly everyone is wealthy (like Atherton, which tops the country on median household income).
