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Where Millionaires Live: 10 Small Towns with Big Millionaire Populations

where millionaires live

What do you picture when you think about where millionaires live? You might think of Beverly Hills or Malibu in California. You might picture New York City. On the other hand, you may imagine millionaires retiring to exotic international destinations.

Of course, there are plenty of millionaires around the world. However, you might be surprised to learn just how many of them live in small American towns. It makes sense, when you think about it. One million dollars doesn’t go a long way in New York City but you can stretch it really far in Williston, North Dakota.

Williston is one of the towns that Kiplinger reports has a high concentration of millionaires. Here are ten small American towns where millionaires live:

1. Summit Park, Utah

There are only about fifteen thousand total households in Summit Park, Utah. Of those, nearly 2000 are where millionaires live. When you look at the exact numbers, it’s got 12.5 % concentration of millionaires. In fact, it’s got the highest concentration of any small town in the United States. This is where millionaires live.

The median income for the area is just under $95,000. The median home value is just over $558,000. People here live good lives; it’s known for film festivals and ski resorts.

2. Los Alamos, New Mexico

I was surprised to learn that Los Alamos was on the list. I’ve been there and it didn’t seem like a place where millionaires live. However, like Summit Park, it has a 12.5% concentration of millionaires.

It’s interesting to compare the statistics between the two locations. There are fewer people living in Los Alamos (about 8000 households) but there are 1000 millionaire households. The median income is higher in Los Alamos (over $110,000) but the median home value is considerably cheaper ($285,000).

Each of these cities offers a very different way of life for the people who choose to call them home.

3. Williston, North Dakota

I’d actually never even heard of this small town before but apparently it’s an oil town and that’s created a dense population of millionaires. Of 14,570 household, 1331 of them are millionaire households. That’s just over 9% concentration.

4. Juneau, Alaska

Juneau has a high cost of living compared to many other places in the United States. Nevertheless, it might not be the first place to come to mind when you think about where millionaires live. And yet, the concentration here is high. The 1156 millionaire households here make up just under 9% of the total.

5. Edwards, Colorado

Edwards is a ski resort town. It’s one of the larger cities on the list, with a population exceeding 20,000 households. Of those, 1756 are millionaire households, which is 8.7% concentration.

6. Torrington, Connecticut

Torrington is a hidden gem – a beautiful place that’s great for outdoor activities but also offers shopping, dining, and art galleries. It’s a frequent escape for Manhattanites who want to get away.

It’s by far the largest city on the list, with more than 74,000 households. More than 6300 of those are millionaire households. The median home value here is $260,700 but the state has some of the highest taxes in the nation.

7. Kapaa, Hawaii

I think of Hawaii as more of a vacation destination than a place where millionaires live full time. However, about 8.4$ of the 25,000+ household in this Kauai island city are millionaire households. Like in Torrington, the property taxes are high, though. And like in Juneau, the cost of groceries and other cost of living items is high as well.

8. Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

The name alone suggests that rich people live here. There are fewer than 650 millionaire homes here but they have such a low total population that it’s still over 8% concentration.

9. Breckenridge, Colorado

Apparently the wealthy like to live in ski towns in the Western United States. This one has just over 1000 millionaire households, which is just under 8% concentration.

10. Easton, Maryland

Millionaires who want a quieter spot with antiquing and calm beaches may try Easton. There are over 1250 millionaire households here, which is 7.9% concentration for the area.

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How Much Does It Cost To Replace Car Keys?

I used to lose my car keys fairly regularly. Even more often, I’d lock them inside the car. It was inconvenient, to say the least. But at the time, it wasn’t too expensive. Wondering how much it cost to replace car keys back in the 90’s? It was only a few dollars if I could get someone to take me to the hardware store where they could copy a spare key for me. If I had to get them to make a brand new key, rather than a copy, it was less than $100.

Replacing Lost Car Keys in the 20th Century

I gave copies of my keys to several friends and family members. That way, they could come help me out. If they weren’t available, then I’d have to get a new key made.

I do recall one awful time when I was out of town and had lost my car keys. I needed to call someone out to my car in the middle of nowhere so he could cut me a new key. It was snowing. The guy didn’t seem to know what he was doing. Therefore, the whole thing took hours.

I was sick, and cold, and frustrated. But, in the end, I got my new key and went on my way. Annoying, but simple enough. I don’t remember how much it cost to replace car keys that time but it was less than $100.

It Costs A Lot More to Replace Car Keys Today

Replacing car keys today isn’t as easy as it was back then. Take a look at your car keys and you’ll notice that they don’t look anything like the kind of key that you can just take to the hardware store and get copied. Instead, they are high-tech electronic keys. If you lose one, it could cost you several hundred dollars to replace it.

You don’t just pay to replace the key. You also have to pay for the electronic key fob. Moreover, you have to pay the dealer to reprogram the car so that it accepts the new key. Of course, all of this is designed to make your car convenient. It also makes it safer from theft. But it means that if you lose your keys, you’ll pay a pretty penny to replace them.

How Much to Replace Car Keys Depends on the Car

Back in 2013, Consumer Reports shared that the cost to replace a Toyota Prius key was about $600. That was the most expensive replacement on their list. BMW key replacement was closer to $500 while Lexus was less than $400 at the time. Meanwhile, the cost to replace a key for a 2005 Honda Accord was about $200. So, how much to replace car keys really depends a lot on the car and the type of key it uses.

Edmunds reported these average prices to replace car keys in 2019:

  • Basic transponder key: $160 (plus fob replacement adds another $75)
  • Switchblade keys: $70 (plus fob replacement adds another $75+)
  • All-in-one laser-cut keys: $150 – $250
  • Smart keys (AKA keyless entry remote): $220 – $500+ depending on vehicle

Notably, you can sometimes get a discount on replacement car keys. Work with your dealer to see if they’ll offer a lower price. Consumer Reports notes that you can get huge discounts if you buy replacement keys online. Of course, as with all shopping on the Internet, you buy at your own risk. Read that fine print before trying to save money that way. And remember that you’ll still need to get a locksmith to program the new key, which adds additional costs.

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What Is Middle Class? You May Be Richer or Poorer Than You Think.

middle class

My sister lives in North Carolina. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Naturally, we have very different viewpoints on money. After all, a new report shows that you need to earn more than $60 per hour to rent a two-bedroom house in my city, whereas my sister just bought a 3-bedroom home (albeit a fixer-upper) for $60,000. Technically, she and I are both “middle class” but I got to thinking about what that even really means today.

Middle Class As a Number

There isn’t any specific legal or governmental definition of what it means to be middle class. Generally speaking, if you earn more than the lowest 30% of wage earners and less than the highest 20% of wage earners, then you’re somewhere in the middle class.

People also frequently define middle class in comparison to median income. If you earn between 67% and 200% of the median income, then you’re generally considered middle class.

If you’re interested in where you fall income-wise, then you can use the Pew Research Center’s income calculator to find out. You’ll enter your state, region, income, and number of people in the household. This will tell you if you’re lower, middle, or upper class compared to the rest of the country. It will also tell you how many others in your area fall into the same category.

For example, if I enter an income of $100,000 for a one-person San Francisco household, I discover this household would be:

  • Upper class
  • 19% of the rest of the US is also upper class
  • 30% of the San Francisco area is also upper class

I also learn that 52% of people in the US are considered middle class but only 47% of people in the Bay Area are in that range. Only 23% of the population here is lower class, as compared to 29% of the rest of the US.

Middle Class Isn’t Really a Number

You can gain a little bit of information about class when you look at income. However, there’s so much more to it than that. Middle class is really a mindset, a lifestyle, a way of being. People in this category generally go to college, although not necessarily to the Ivy League. They often live beyond their means with credit cards and mortgages, but they may have good credit scores and access to additional money in emergencies.

Middle class income clearly affords my sister a different lifestyle than what it affords me in San Francisco. And yet, despite the fact that my money would go further there, I frequently pay for pricey cocktails and organic groceries and the services of a housecleaner using my middle class Bay Area income.

Class is a confusing thing, especially as the gap grows between the lower and upper classes. (We used to define the middle as between the lower 20% and the higher 20%. Now we define it as between the lower 30% and the higher 20%. Middle class shrinkage is a real thing.)

Do You Feel Middle Class?

Your perspective on wealth or class makes a big difference. You may technically be in the middle income-wise but feel poorer or richer because of your perspectives on earning and wealth. For example, in a recent survey, most people earning $100,000+ don’t consider themselves upper class.

Technically, by the numbers, this is an upper class group. However, nearly one fourth of them said they’re upper-middle class. Perhaps that’s reasonable. But what about the quarter of them that say they are either working class or poor. That’s right 7% of people who earn $100,000 or more think of themselves as poor.

Where you live affects this. If you live in an urban area, you’re more likely to consider yourself poor by comparison to others. Many people see homeownership as one milestone to becoming middle class, but you’re more likely to rent in a city than in the suburbs.

Plus, if you’re in the middle income bracket, chances are that you have a lot of debt. If you do own a home, there’s a mortgage. Even if you don’t, you probably also owe a lot towards school loans, car loans, and/or credit card debt. When you have a lot of debt, you feel poor, even if you earn a lot of money.

What is Wealth?

Wealth relates to money. However, that’s not all that there is to it. Research shows that millennials think it would take nearly $2 million net worth to be wealthy, and yet 75% of them still feel rich. People feel rich when they make their money work for them. If you use your money to obtain the lifestyle that you want – including health, education, family time, social activities, etc – then you can feel rich.

Sure, you might not call yourself upper class. You might not even identify as in the middle. But you can still identify as rich in the things that matter if you have the right perspective on your wealth.

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