Description
Which U.S. city has the highest household income? Climb all 100 of the richest cities in the U.S., from #100 to #1, with each city's median household income, population and one quick fact.
Keep an eye on the background: hot-air balloons, a friendly dragon, sky lanterns, a flying sailing ship, a giant robot, a sky whale, Santa's sleigh, a comet, a meteor shower and a rocket launch for #1.
How the ranking works: median household income in the past 12 months (in 2025 inflation-adjusted dollars), from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates, table B19013, released Oct. 29, 2026. Population is from table B01003 of the same survey. The list covers incorporated cities and towns with 100,000 or more people; census-designated places (unincorporated communities such as Arlington, Va.) are not cities, so they are not included. These are survey estimates with margins of error, so cities a few ranks apart can be statistically tied. Not financial advice.
Every city (timestamps):
0:00 Intro
0:02 #100 Chesapeake, Va.
0:06 #99 Carrollton, Texas
0:09 #98 Bend, Ore.
0:12 #97 Oxnard, Calif.
0:16 #96 Henderson, Nev.
0:19 #95 West Jordan, Utah
0:22 #94 Port St. Lucie, Fla.
0:26 #93 Oakland, Calif.
0:29 #92 Midland, Texas
0:32 #91 Escondido, Calif.
0:35 #90 Rio Rancho, N.M.
0:39 #89 Santa Rosa, Calif.
0:42 #88 Lakewood, Colo.
0:45 #87 Burbank, Calif.
0:49 #86 Garden Grove, Calif.
0:52 #85 Jurupa Valley, Calif.
0:55 #84 Renton, Wash.
0:59 #83 Virginia Beach, Va.
1:02 #82 Davie, Fla.
1:05 #81 Surprise, Ariz.
1:08 #80 Anchorage, Alaska
1:12 #79 Boston, Mass.
1:15 #78 Menifee, Calif.
1:18 #77 Vacaville, Calif.
1:22 #76 Buckeye, Ariz.
1:25 #75 Elgin, Ill.
1:28 #74 Ventura, Calif.
1:32 #73 Anaheim, Calif.
1:35 #72 Oceanside, Calif.
1:38 #71 Kent, Wash.
1:41 #70 West Covina, Calif.
1:45 #69 Scottsdale, Ariz.
1:48 #68 Pasadena, Calif.
1:51 #67 Overland Park, Kan.
1:55 #66 Peoria, Ariz.
1:58 #65 Hayward, Calif.
2:01 #64 Richardson, Texas
2:05 #63 Sandy Springs, Ga.
2:08 #62 Miramar, Fla.
2:11 #61 Lee's Summit, Mo.
2:14 #60 Meridian, Idaho
2:18 #59 Chula Vista, Calif.
2:21 #58 Fontana, Calif.
2:24 #57 Fullerton, Calif.
2:28 #56 Fairfield, Calif.
2:31 #55 Washington, D.C.
2:34 #54 Thornton, Colo.
2:38 #53 Jersey City, N.J.
2:41 #52 Corona, Calif.
2:44 #51 Edmond, Okla.
2:47 #50 Stamford, Conn.
2:51 #49 Concord, Calif.
2:54 #48 Goodyear, Ariz.
2:57 #47 Antioch, Calif.
3:01 #46 Alexandria, Va.
3:04 #45 San Diego, Calif.
3:07 #44 Plano, Texas
3:11 #43 Orange, Calif.
3:14 #42 Olathe, Kan.
3:17 #41 Murrieta, Calif.
3:20 #40 Temecula, Calif.
3:24 #39 Chandler, Ariz.
3:27 #38 Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
3:30 #37 Hillsboro, Ore.
3:34 #36 Downey, Calif.
3:37 #35 Torrance, Calif.
3:40 #34 Seattle, Wash.
3:44 #33 Arvada, Colo.
3:47 #32 Elk Grove, Calif.
3:50 #31 League City, Texas
3:53 #30 Santa Clarita, Calif.
3:57 #29 Gilbert, Ariz.
4:00 #28 Daly City, Calif.
4:03 #27 Tracy, Calif.
4:07 #26 Pearland, Texas
4:10 #25 Huntington Beach, Calif.
4:13 #24 Costa Mesa, Calif.
4:17 #23 Roseville, Calif.
4:20 #22 Allen, Texas
4:23 #21 Simi Valley, Calif.
4:26 #20 Thousand Oaks, Calif.
4:30 #19 Cary, N.C.
4:33 #18 Boca Raton, Fla.
4:36 #17 Fishers, Ind.
4:40 #16 Carmel, Ind.
4:43 #15 Sugar Land, Texas
4:46 #14 Cambridge, Mass.
4:50 #13 Centennial, Colo.
4:53 #12 Irvine, Calif.
4:56 #11 McKinney, Texas
4:59 #10 San Francisco, Calif.
5:03 #9 San Mateo, Calif.
5:06 #8 San Jose, Calif.
5:09 #7 Bellevue, Wash.
5:13 #6 Frisco, Texas
5:16 #5 Naperville, Ill.
5:19 #4 Carlsbad, Calif.
5:23 #3 Santa Clara, Calif.
5:26 #2 Fremont, Calif.
5:29 #1 Sunnyvale, Calif.
5:32 All 100 together
Sources
Income and population: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates, tables B19013 (median household income) and B01003 (total population) (data.census.gov).
Facts: each city's Wikipedia article, checked line by line.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Flickr photographers under Creative Commons licenses or in the public domain, credited under each city on screen (full credits in the pinned comment).
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