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.
Here are the 10 richest places in Washington for 2023:
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
/10
2. Mercer Island
/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
/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
/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
/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
/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
/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
/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
/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
/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
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:
- Worst Places To Live In Washington
- Safest Places In Washington
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Washington
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Washington
Rank | City | RichScore |
---|---|---|
1 | Clyde Hill | 1.0 |
2 | Mercer Island | 3.0 |
3 | Sammamish | 3.0 |
4 | Bellevue | 5.5 |
5 | Redmond | 6.0 |
6 | Bainbridge Island | 7.0 |
7 | Newcastle | 7.5 |
8 | Snoqualmie | 9.0 |
9 | Lake Forest Park | 10.0 |
10 | Woodinville | 11.0 |
11 | Issaquah | 11.5 |
12 | Kirkland | 12.0 |
13 | Duvall | 14.5 |
14 | North Bend | 14.5 |
15 | Brier | 14.5 |
16 | Kenmore | 17.5 |
17 | Normandy Park | 18.0 |
18 | Maple Valley | 20.0 |
19 | Seattle | 20.0 |
20 | Mukilteo | 20.5 |
21 | Bothell | 20.5 |
22 | Black Diamond | 21.0 |
23 | Mill Creek | 21.5 |
24 | Camas | 22.5 |
25 | Edmonds | 27.0 |
26 | Edgewood | 28.5 |
27 | Covington | 30.0 |
28 | Shoreline | 30.0 |
29 | Gig Harbor | 30.0 |
30 | Ridgefield | 31.5 |
31 | Buckley | 33.0 |
32 | Lake Stevens | 36.0 |
33 | Steilacoom | 37.0 |
34 | Bonney Lake | 38.0 |
35 | Mountlake Terrace | 39.5 |
36 | Monroe | 39.5 |
37 | Renton | 40.5 |
38 | Anacortes | 43.0 |
39 | Stanwood | 43.5 |
40 | Dupont | 44.0 |
41 | University Place | 44.5 |
42 | Burien | 44.5 |
43 | Fircrest | 45.0 |
44 | La Center | 45.0 |
45 | Washougal | 48.5 |
46 | Poulsbo | 51.0 |
47 | Marysville | 51.5 |
48 | Liberty Lake | 51.5 |
49 | Snohomish | 51.5 |
50 | Kent | 52.0 |
51 | West Richland | 54.0 |
52 | Puyallup | 54.5 |
53 | Arlington | 54.75 |
54 | Orting | 55.0 |
55 | Enumclaw | 55.0 |
56 | Auburn | 55.5 |
57 | Lynden | 56.5 |
58 | Lynnwood | 57.0 |
59 | Sumner | 59.0 |
60 | Des Moines | 60.0 |
61 | Battle Ground | 60.0 |
62 | Milton | 61.0 |
63 | Granite Falls | 63.0 |
64 | Port Orchard | 64.0 |
65 | Ferndale | 64.5 |
66 | Everett | 64.5 |
67 | Blaine | 66.0 |
68 | Federal Way | 67.0 |
69 | Yelm | 68.5 |
70 | Tumwater | 69.0 |
71 | Richland | 69.0 |
72 | Tukwila | 69.5 |
73 | Seatac | 70.0 |
74 | Bellingham | 70.0 |
75 | Fife | 73.0 |
76 | Tacoma | 76.0 |
77 | Algona | 76.0 |
78 | Olympia | 77.0 |
79 | Sultan | 79.0 |
80 | Lacey | 80.0 |
81 | Vancouver | 80.5 |
82 | Pacific | 81.5 |
83 | Moxee | 83.0 |
84 | Chelan | 84.0 |
85 | Woodland | 84.0 |
86 | East Wenatchee | 85.0 |
87 | Medical Lake | 86.5 |
88 | Mount Vernon | 87.0 |
89 | Port Townsend | 88.75 |
90 | Lakewood | 89.5 |
91 | Oak Harbor | 89.5 |
92 | Sedro-Woolley | 90.5 |
93 | Pasco | 91.75 |
94 | Bremerton | 93.0 |
95 | Selah | 93.0 |
96 | Kennewick | 95.5 |
97 | Wenatchee | 97.0 |
98 | Elma | 97.5 |
99 | Burlington | 98.0 |
100 | Zillah | 102.5 |