You’ll need a boat to visit America’s richest zip code
washington — The richest zip code in America is just as exclusive and elite as the people who live there. Fisher Island, located just off the coast of Miami, is accessible only by ferry or water taxi and is a haven for the world’s richest.
The 216-acre island has diverse residents, representing over 50 nationalities and professions ranging from professional athletes and supermodels to executives and lawyers.
The average income in Fisher Island, zip code 33109, was $2.5 million in 2015, according to a Bloomberg analysis of 2015 Internal Revenue Service data. That’s $1 million more than the second-place spot, held by zip code 94027 in Silicon Valley, also known as the City of Atherton on the San Francisco Peninsula. The area’s neighbours include Stanford University and Menlo Park, home to Facebook and various tech companies.
While the IRS data only provide the averages of tax returns, which can be skewed by outliers, Fisher Island is the only zip code in the Bloomberg analysis where more than half of all tax returns showed an income of over $200,000.
To no one’s surprise, neighbourhoods in California and the New York tri-state area comprise a majority of the top 20 richest US zip codes. States with favourable tax structures like Florida and Wyoming are drawing the wealthy, too.
Bloomberg evaluated IRS data for zip codes with more than 200 tax returns as of the 2015 filing season, and with 500 residential households according to the latest Census tally. More than 22,000 zip codes met the criteria.
Who didn’t make the top 20? Any of the zip codes in Manhattan. However, several Manhattan neighbourhoods made the top 50, starting with the venerable zip code of 10005 at No. 21 on the list. This one is home to the New York Stock Exchange and sits at the edge of the iconic “Charging Bull” sculpture.
Two other zip codes in Florida — Palm Beach (home of President Trump’s private club) and Naples — made the top 20. Suburbs of Seattle, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston also landed in the highest spots.