The 10 Richest Cities In Washington For 2023


The richest cities in Washington are Clyde Hill and Mercer Island for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

You might have to win the Washington lottery if you want to live in The Evergreen State’s wealthiest places.

Now, if you’ve never been lucky, you might want to listen up if you’re thinking about calling one of Washington’s richest places home. We think that you can increase your luck if you take a look at HomeSnacks’ list of the top ten richest cities in this Pacific Northwest Paradise for 2023.

But first, some insight into how we identified the top ten. We looked at the latest Census data from the American Community Survey for 142 Washington cities with more than 3,000 residents. And, folks, if you live in the greater Seattle and Tacoma you are definitely Washington’s one percent and you are definitely rubbing elbows with the Joneses.

But, if you don’t live where wealthy Washingtonians are ‘rolling in the dough,’ you’re going to need to find a job that makes at least $127,689/year. And currently, the highest paying jobs are in healthcare and aviation. Next, you’re going to have to have a vacation home in sunny San Diego, California so you have something to talk about at your fancy, rich parties.

So, want to know where Washington’s finest live who only drink the cleanest Crystal Springs Water from Kent and only wear the Eddie Baur brand out of Bellevue? Keep reading.

In order to determine Washington’s richest places, we also looked at the things that wealthy people find worthy of their time and efforts: high paying jobs and low poverty. To this, we gave every city that made Washington’s richest places a Wealth score. Congrats to Washington’s number one richest city, they scored a perfect 10/10!

So, what is Washington’s richest place for 2023? According to the most recent data, that would be Clyde Hill.

To see the other cities in Washington where money REALLY does grow on trees, take a look below. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, head to the bottom.

Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Washington:

The 10 Richest Cities In Washington For 2023

1. Clyde Hill

Clyde Hill, WA

Source: Flickr User KurtClark | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 3,118
Median Income: $250,001
Median Home Values: $2,000,001
More on Clyde Hill: Data | Crime | Real Estate

2. Mercer Island

Mercer Island, WA

Source: Flickr User rutlo | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 25,506
Median Income: $170,000
Median Home Values: $1,504,500
More on Mercer Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

3. Sammamish

Sammamish, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Emmanuel BRUNNER | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 66,532
Median Income: $195,648
Median Home Values: $939,600
More on Sammamish: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

4. Bellevue

Bellevue, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Jelson25 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 149,365
Median Income: $140,252
Median Home Values: $951,200
More on Bellevue: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

5. Redmond

Redmond, WA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 72,166
Median Income: $147,006
Median Home Values: $864,100
More on Redmond: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

6. Bainbridge Island

Bainbridge Island, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Casey Yee | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 24,557
Median Income: $145,475
Median Home Values: $852,700
More on Bainbridge Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

7. Newcastle

Newcastle, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Japs 88 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 12,855
Median Income: $139,439
Median Home Values: $888,400
More on Newcastle: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

8. Snoqualmie

Snoqualmie, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Max Richards | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 13,718
Median Income: $171,241
Median Home Values: $681,500
More on Snoqualmie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

9. Lake Forest Park

Lake Forest Park, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Solarbird (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 13,529
Median Income: $139,881
Median Home Values: $746,400
More on Lake Forest Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

10. Woodinville

Woodinville, WA

Source: Wikipedia User FloweringHearth at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 13,247
Median Income: $127,689
Median Home Values: $770,800
More on Woodinville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Washington For 2023

Map Of The Richest Places To Live In Washington
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is simply identifying personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.

However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places.” So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey and applied Saturday Night Science:

  • Median Home Values
  • Median Household Income

Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is. And home values are a measure of wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”

After we collected the data for all 142 places with more than 3,000 people in Washington, we ranked each place from 1 to 142 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score,” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Clyde Hill, crowned the “Richest City In Washington For 2023.”

The data has been updated for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the wealthiest cities in Washington.

You can skip to the end to see the rankings for all 142 places.

Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Washington For 2023

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Washington, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Washington.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Washington, according to data:

Poorest: Goldendale
2nd Poorest: Mattawa
3rd Poorest: Sunnyside

For more Washington reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Washington

Rank City RichScore Median Income Median Home Value
1 Clyde Hill 1.0 $250,001 $2,000,001
2 Mercer Island 3.0 $170,000 $1,504,500
3 Sammamish 3.0 $195,648 $939,600
4 Bellevue 5.5 $140,252 $951,200
5 Redmond 6.0 $147,006 $864,100
6 Bainbridge Island 7.0 $145,475 $852,700
7 Newcastle 7.5 $139,439 $888,400
8 Snoqualmie 9.0 $171,241 $681,500
9 Lake Forest Park 10.0 $139,881 $746,400
10 Woodinville 11.0 $127,689 $770,800
11 Issaquah 11.5 $132,984 $745,100
12 Kirkland 12.0 $121,998 $805,600
13 Duvall 14.5 $168,208 $599,400
14 North Bend 14.5 $123,287 $692,800
15 Brier 14.5 $132,857 $660,300
16 Kenmore 17.5 $121,463 $656,200
17 Normandy Park 18.0 $113,328 $715,700
18 Maple Valley 20.0 $125,092 $498,100
19 Seattle 20.0 $105,391 $767,500
20 Mukilteo 20.5 $109,738 $666,300
21 Bothell 20.5 $116,578 $638,000
22 Black Diamond 21.0 $118,140 $609,200
23 Mill Creek 21.5 $112,072 $647,800
24 Camas 22.5 $121,094 $497,100
25 Edmonds 27.0 $96,775 $639,100
26 Edgewood 28.5 $108,492 $484,700
27 Covington 30.0 $114,247 $434,500
28 Shoreline 30.0 $95,623 $627,500
29 Gig Harbor 30.0 $96,192 $574,600
30 Ridgefield 31.5 $107,861 $450,700
31 Buckley 33.0 $115,245 $415,500
32 Lake Stevens 36.0 $99,296 $425,500
33 Steilacoom 37.0 $95,316 $442,500
34 Bonney Lake 38.0 $108,705 $396,700
35 Mountlake Terrace 39.5 $87,785 $451,900
36 Monroe 39.5 $94,349 $432,600
37 Renton 40.5 $84,374 $474,700
38 Anacortes 43.0 $80,043 $484,600
39 Stanwood 43.5 $89,231 $419,000
40 Dupont 44.0 $98,409 $385,500
41 University Place 44.5 $84,673 $430,500
42 Burien 44.5 $79,797 $459,800
43 Fircrest 45.0 $90,854 $406,500
44 La Center 45.0 $91,375 $399,700
45 Washougal 48.5 $95,894 $376,000
46 Poulsbo 51.0 $79,248 $420,800
47 Marysville 51.5 $89,008 $384,000
48 Liberty Lake 51.5 $96,169 $361,000
49 Snohomish 51.5 $77,308 $435,500
50 Kent 52.0 $79,781 $414,200
51 West Richland 54.0 $109,209 $322,200
52 Puyallup 54.5 $81,224 $387,800
53 Arlington 54.75 $87,708 $372,600
54 Orting 55.0 $97,614 $336,300
55 Enumclaw 55.0 $91,855 $358,000
56 Auburn 55.5 $79,415 $393,500
57 Lynden 56.5 $78,004 $394,600
58 Lynnwood 57.0 $67,576 $492,600
59 Sumner 59.0 $77,601 $390,700
60 Des Moines 60.0 $73,131 $416,500
61 Battle Ground 60.0 $85,943 $344,700
62 Milton 61.0 $81,690 $359,400
63 Granite Falls 63.0 $75,523 $385,700
64 Port Orchard 64.0 $75,766 $377,700
65 Ferndale 64.5 $77,746 $366,200
66 Everett 64.5 $71,357 $394,900
67 Blaine 66.0 $76,272 $369,500
68 Federal Way 67.0 $72,969 $384,200
69 Yelm 68.5 $83,027 $315,400
70 Tumwater 69.0 $77,849 $343,300
71 Richland 69.0 $83,066 $311,000
72 Tukwila 69.5 $71,688 $373,200
73 Seatac 70.0 $73,540 $364,400
74 Bellingham 70.0 $59,163 $440,300
75 Fife 73.0 $75,557 $337,200
76 Tacoma 76.0 $69,956 $347,100
77 Algona 76.0 $78,040 $300,000
78 Olympia 77.0 $67,975 $355,100
79 Sultan 79.0 $73,530 $315,900
80 Lacey 80.0 $75,059 $310,600
81 Vancouver 80.5 $67,462 $343,900
82 Pacific 81.5 $69,095 $331,200
83 Moxee 83.0 $83,596 $222,200
84 Chelan 84.0 $62,905 $344,600
85 Woodland 84.0 $74,221 $275,900
86 East Wenatchee 85.0 $67,739 $314,100
87 Medical Lake 86.5 $76,829 $248,900
88 Mount Vernon 87.0 $62,706 $334,700
89 Port Townsend 88.75 $54,907 $372,600
90 Lakewood 89.5 $60,534 $331,500
91 Oak Harbor 89.5 $61,261 $329,500
92 Sedro-Woolley 90.5 $66,554 $298,100
93 Pasco 91.75 $70,486 $250,500
94 Bremerton 93.0 $61,741 $306,700
95 Selah 93.0 $64,468 $270,000
96 Kennewick 95.5 $64,053 $262,400
97 Wenatchee 97.0 $60,285 $296,800
98 Elma 97.5 $69,405 $228,100
99 Burlington 98.0 $58,345 $304,600
100 Zillah 102.5 $64,201 $222,500
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.