It News: Top-Earning Towns

Top-Earning Towns

Aug 21, 2012 Money
Luxe homes, great schools and exclusive communities. It takes a big paycheck to live large in these posh patches.
1. Bethesda, MD

Population: 61,511
Median family income: $184,606
Median home price: $740,000

An easy commute from Washington D.C., Bethesda is a hotspot for the highly educated, with nearly half of its residents boasting a graduate or professional degree. That may explain the incomes -- the highest on our list this year. They enable people to afford the luxe homes here, which are more than twice as pricey as the state average.

Though Washington D.C. is a quick Metro ride away, there's no need to head to the nation's capital for culture. Bethesda's urban downtown offers its own live theater, international cuisine and a variety of events, from monthly art walks to annual juried art competitions.

2. Greenwich, CT

Population: 62,074
Median family income: $167,502
Median home price: $1,901,029

Greenwich isn't just another pretty town on Connecticut's Long Island Sound, or even the closest to Manhattan. It's also a magnet for hedge funds and boutique financial service companies. Many of their well-paid executives call it home for the short commute, the excellent school system and access to outdoor attractions, which include beaches, boating and golf. The town also offers its own fully professional symphony orchestra.

Bring your checkbook and your Swiss bank account. Home prices can run from half a million, all the way up to $33 million for a 15,000-square-foot estate with 15-bedrooms and 17 baths.

3. Palo Alto, CA

Population: 65,260
Median family income: $163,661
Median home price: $1,225,000

Nestled in California's Silicon Valley, Palo Alto has attracted a pile of tech companies -- and their CEOs. Not only does tech granddaddy HP have its headquarters here, but so do newbies like Pinterest and Ning. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has a house in Palo Alto, as did Steve Jobs. Stanford University, which falls within its boundaries, adds to the city's prestige.

Palo Alto nurtures startups and the money that results from their successes. Its residents reap the rewards. Area schools are exceptional, while the city has 35 parks and a Mediterranean climate that varies by only 20 degrees year-round.

4. Newport Beach, CA

Population: 83,377
Median family income: $156,928
Median home price: $1,118,250

As its name suggests, Newport Beach offers heaps of water access with 10 miles of opulent coastline -- and the upscale waterfront housing to match. With an average winter high of 64 degrees, residents can enjoy the city's oceanfront all year long.

Looking for a lavish gated community? You'll find one in Newport Beach, as long as you don't mind a seven-figure price tag. You may even catch a glimpse of a visiting college football team or its traveling alumni, housed in town for the Rose Bowl. Fortune 500 company Pacific Life, as well as investment firm PIMCO, are headquartered here, and well-paid employees enjoy the short commute.

5. Lower Merion, PA

Population: 58,618
Median family income: $153,309
Median home price: $553,498

Part of Pennsylvania's wealthy Main Line corridor that popped up along the rail line of the same name, Lower Merion got its start when railroad executives built massive summer homes here. Today, it's an elite suburb of Philadelphia and dotted with colleges, including women's liberal arts school Bryn Mawr, which is also one of the township's largest employers.

Residents bring lawn chairs and blankets to twilight concerts at the Bryn Mawr Gazebo all summer long and enjoy their pick of sledding hills in the winter months. The area's 682 acres of parkland and top-rated schools in the state form a well-rounded nest for well-heeled Pennsylvanians.

6. Ashburn, VA

Population: 59,790
Median family income: $146,093
Median home price: $345,000

Wealthy Washington Redskins fans should be thrilled to live in Ashburn, since the team's training camp calls it home. Some of the players even hang their helmets here. Located about 30 miles west of Washington D.C. and half an hour from Virginia wine country, the area is known for its equestrian community and planned neighborhoods on land that used to hold dairy farms.

Ashburn contains a major Verizon campus, as well as the headquarters for government contractor Telos and the National Crash Analysis Center, so jobs are plentiful, as are the executives who settle here for the schools and suburban feel.

7. Newton, MA

Population: 84,655
Median family income: $145,639
Median home price: $650,000

Run the Boston marathon for your own little tour of suburban Newton and its posh and historic housing stock—wealthy residents pay top dollar for homes in one of 13 villages, each with its own cluster of shops, and connected by a network of tree-lined scenic roads and golf courses.

Newton is also home to four of the marathon's hills, including the race's infamous "Heartbreak Hill." You'll lope past Boston College, one of three colleges within Newton's borders and the city's largest employer. Other amenities you might not notice from the race route: one of the largest libraries in the state, as well as one of the best school districts.

8. Hoboken, NJ

Population: 52,151
Median family income: $140,780
Median home price: $491,250

With waterfront views of the Manhattan skyline and a compact grid packed with outdoor cafes, bars, and shops, Hoboken draws its fair share of upper crust commuters. Many of them take the city's rail or ferry lines into New York City. But when they're at home, residents of this Hudson River locale enjoy park space, beaches, and a waterside walkway teeming with people who've left their cars behind. Space constraints mean single-family houses are scarce, but historic brownstones and row homes offer plenty of upscale amenities.

9. Brookline, MA

Population: 59,142
Median family income: $139,756
Median home price: $565,000

Brookline enjoys a reputation as one of the top-notch suburbs of Boston, and its status and proximity encourage housing prices that creep into seven figures—the price its residents pay for exclusivity. Although Brookline is practically surrounded by Boston, it maintains its small-town character, complete with puppet theatre, one of the oldest country clubs in the country, and a working farm that provides locals with fresh-picked arugula and tomatoes.

It's also the birthplace of notable notables, from John F. Kennedy to Conan O'Brien, and there's a neighborhood called "Pill Hill" for all the doctors who settled there in the late 1800s.

10. Fairfield, CT

Population: 59,616
Median family income: $136,808
Median home price: $618,417

If you covet an upscale home that's walking distance to the beach, downtown and to your commuter train, Fairfield is your one-stop suburb. Located on the Long Island Sound, the city offers five miles of coastline and a town-owned marina for locals looking to tie up their yachts.

Downtown bustles with a variety of outdoor dining and shops, and although the location promises easy access to both New York City and Hartford, Fairfield is no corporate slouch -- GE is headquartered here. The company even has its own ZIP code.