New York state is, of course, home to New York City, which in turn is home to some of the wealthiest zip codes, all squeezed into the tiny island of Manhattan. But what about the rest of the state? What are the richest cities in the Empire State?
In a series of studies, we analyzed and zeroed-in on the 50 richest cities in Texas, Alabama as well as the richest cities in Ohio, from among others. Here we’re going to dive deep into the data and identify the richest cities in New York.
Read on to find out what the richest city in New York is, plus the top 50 wealthiest cities in the state.
What Is the Richest City in New York?
Relying on data sourced from the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, we put together a four-factor scoring system to help identify the wealthiest cities in New York:
- Median household income
- Mean (average) household income
- Median home value
- Median property taxes paid
All four of these metrics were scored, added up, and then ranked by the cities’ combined scores.
Below you’ll find a table detailing the top 50 richest cities in New York and their respective dollar figures for each metric:
The No. 1 richest city in New York state is Brookeville, a small town of 733 households, situated on the North Shore of Long Island (likely not far from the area that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s West Egg and East Egg in The Great Gatsby). The median household income in Brookeville exceeds $250,000, while its average household income is the highest out of the 1,400+ cities in New York we analyzed, at $617,173. Brookeville’s reported median home value surpasses $2 million and the median property taxes paid by households is in excess of $10,000 per year.
The No. 2 richest city in New York is Tuxedo Park, a gated village northwest of New York City, in Orange County. The town is centered on Tuxedo Lake and includes the Tuxedo Club Golf Clubhouse. Like Brookeville, the median home value in Tuxedo Park exceeds the $2 million limit as tracked by the Census Bureau, and its median property taxes paid also exceeds the limit of $10,000. Besides a median household income in excess of $250,000, Tuxedo Park has an average household income of $597,528, the second highest amount in the state. With 22% of the workforce employed in the Finance & Insurance industry, according to Data USA, it’s not surprising that incomes are so high in Tuxedo Park.
Out of the top 10 richest cities in New York, the largest is Scarsdale, with 5,448 households. Despite its size, Scarsdale still maintains a median household income that surpasses $250,000. Meanwhile, its average household income is one of the highest in New York, $516,371. And its median home value is more than $1.47 million, while the median property taxes paid by household is in excess of $10,000 per year.