I was wondering, what are the wealthiest places to live here in the states, and in the world? Use any parameter...

 

I believe that Tokyo used to be the most expensive place to live, but has now been overtaken by London.

Value wise, legend has it that the Imperial Palace grounds in central Tokyo, if valued at the highest land value paid in Tokyo during the bubble years, was, at that time, worth more than the whole of California!!!!

 

Fairfax, VA, is the wealthiest county in the country.

-Dan

 

SF bay area, esp. north bay is hella expensive. million dollar condos in the suburbs, etc. a million dollar home in fairfax county would be 5 million out here.

 

http://www.naco.org/counties/queries/income_res.cfm
State | County | 1990 Population | 1990 Average Household Income | 2004 Population (estimate) | 2004 Avgerage Household Income (estimate)
1 NJ Morris 421,353 $ 70,943 490,502 $ 127,530
2 NY Westchester 874,866 $ 69,374 907,826 $ 131,784
3 NY Nassau 1,287,348 $ 69,294 1,304,407 $ 109,385
4 VA Fairfax 818,584 $ 69,002 988,306 $ 127,451
5 MD Montgomery 757,027 $ 68,006 864,861 $ 116,407
6 CA Marin 230,096 $ 67,744 249,144 $ 118,185
7 NJ Somerset 240,279 $ 67,270 307,790 $ 132,098
8 NJ Hunterdon 107,776 $ 65,381 129,874 $ 119,971
9 NJ Bergen 825,380 $ 63,941 878,990 $ 106,156
10 IL Lake 516,418 $ 63,560 652,479 $ 137,607
11 NY Rockland 265,475 $ 62,734 290,796 $ 104,929
12 MD Howard 187,328 $ 61,900 264,704 $ 87,927
13 NY Putnam 83,941 $ 61,089 99,082 $ 95,470
14 CO Douglas 60,391 $ 61,024 201,190 $ 116,527
15 AK Kodiak Island 13,309 $ 60,932 14,339 $ 70,500
16 CA San Mateo 649,623 $ 59,647 749,469 $ 114,101
17 AK North Slope 5,979 $ 58,967 7,603 $ 68,293
18 IL Du Page 781,666 $ 58,784 921,621 $ 111,777
19 CO Pitkin 12,661 $ 58,290 13,538 $ 133,165
20 VA Loudoun 86,129 $ 58,175 187,390 $ 84,111
21 PA Montgomery 678,111 $ 57,977 743,572 $ 104,403
22 CA Santa Clara 1,497,577 $ 57,935 1,771,561 $ 113,832
23 NM Los Alamos 18,115 $ 57,421 18,097 $ 91,402
24 CA Orange 2,410,556 $ 57,374 2,921,853 $ 84,355
25 PA Chester 376,396 $ 57,356 451,385 $ 124,498

 

I always thought Greenwich village in CT was the wealthiest...

 

Although interesting, I believe the original question was about the richest cities and not the richest counties. Although I'd suspect that the richest cities would probably be within some of these rich counties.

 

Try Jupiter Island, Florida. Was once the richest town in the US, but very little known. Not quite big enough to be a city. I happen to live in Jupiter, its poorer neighbor town.

 

According to the US Census this is the richest town in the US.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/765855.asp?0dm=B28IB

 

America's Top Ten Richest Towns
http://www.weekendonline.net/207/com207.html

1. Jupiter Island, Florida population 601
Median Home Price $3,937,500

2. Atherton, California population 7,500
Median Home Price $2,697,500

3.Aspen, Colorado population 5,049
Median Home Price $2,300,000

4. Los Altos Hills , California population 7,900
Median Home Price $2,100,000

5.Belvedere, California population 2,071
Median Home Price $1,842,500

6. Sea Island, GA population 885
Median Home Price $1,825,000

7. Hillsborough, California population 10,589
Median Home Price $1,760,000

8. Snowmass Village, Colorado population 1,449
Median Home Price $1,750,000

9. Mountain Village, Colorado population 1,000
Median Home Price $1,700,00

10. Rolling Hills, California population 1,748
Median Home Price $1,610,000


This was the full list back in 1997. I can't find anything more current online.
http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/cp_lai/rich.htm