The widening wage-gap in the United States is cause for pause, and it’s been very prevalent in the news over the last few weeks. Did you know the top 1% of Americans earn 21% of the money in the country?
Massive amounts of wealth are often translated from generation to generation, which is why Coventry Direct wanted to look into where the most money is in the United States. Their team looked into 50 cities in the US that Bloomberg ranked on their “Richest Cities Index” to rank the cities of the “Top One Percent”.
To determine the top 1%, they used seven weighted factors to reveal where the richest Americans live.
The seven factors they included were:
- Average revenue of trust & fiduciary firms per capita
- Number of CEOs employed per capita
- Median annual household income
- Average annual discretionary income per metro area
- Median home value
- Number of private school attendees per capita
- Average monthly dues for golf/country club members
With that being said, where do the top 1% live? Based on the aforementioned seven factors, there are 20 cities ranked in the study. Unsurprisingly, multiple California metro areas make the top 20, including Los Altos in Silicon Valley as well as Malibu in Los Angeles. Additionally, multiple metropolitan areas around Chicago also make the top 20 cities. Another unsurprising location that tops the chart is Washington, D.C. where many politicians, executive level employees, and leaders live.
One of the most interesting things about the study is that it showcases the industries that help Americans amass enormous amounts of wealth. It’s evident in Highland Park, Texas that oil is one of the industries that can contribute to large salaries and copious amounts of money. If you look in another area of the country such as in New England where Boston, Massachusetts is — it’s evident that the chief executives who live in Bean Town bring home the bacon.
Where does your city fall on the list? Check out the full study here: https://www.coventrydirect.com/blog/trust-fund-cities-in-us/