25 Small Towns With Big Millionaire Populations
They say a million bucks ain't what it used to be, but it's still a huge chunk of change for the vast majority of Americans, especially when it's liquid.
Back out things like the value of real estate (the bulk of most folks' wealth is tied up in their homes), employer-sponsored retirement plans and business partnerships, and only 6.2% of American households qualify as actual millionaires. To clarify, that means they have at least $1 million in investable assets. Examples of investable assets include cash, stocks, bonds and funds, among a bunch of other types of investments and financial products.
By raw numbers, most of these millionaire households can be found in and around big cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago - just as you would expect. But some millionaires prefer to avoid the hustle and bustle of major metropolises. Indeed, pockets of millionaires can be found in some far-flung places.
Phoenix Marketing International, a firm that tracks the affluent market, annually ranks 933 urban areas, large and small, based on the percentage of millionaire households in each location. The following list of cities is limited to "micropolitan" areas, which the Census Bureau defines as urban clusters with populations between 10,000 and 50,000, "plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties."
In some cases, these locations benefit from being popular recreational areas or havens for wealthy retirees. In others, a particular industry drives local wealth. Either way, these are the 25 smallest cities and towns boasting the highest concentrations of millionaire households in the U.S.
Micropolitan areas are listed by percentage of millionaire households, rounded to one decimal, from lowest to highest. Estimates of millionaire households are provided by Phoenix Marketing International. Investable assets include education/custodial accounts, individually owned retirement accounts, stocks, options, bonds, mutual funds, managed accounts, hedge funds, structured products, ETFs, cash accounts, annuities and cash value life insurance policies. Data on household incomes and home values come from the U.S. Census Bureau, unless otherwise noted.
25. Gillette, Wyoming
Millionaire households: 1,241
Total households: 18,537
Concentration of millionaires: 6.7%
Median income for all households: $80,178 (U.S.: $57,652)
Median home value: $213,900 (U.S.: $193,500)
Gillette is a small city that has seen fortunes made on the back
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