The Richest Zip Codes in California

U.S. Census Bureau Data  |  American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

California is home to some of the wealthiest communities in the world. The statewide median household income sits around $91,900 — already well above the U.S. national median of $75,149 — but a small cluster of zip codes in the San Francisco Bay Area and along the Southern California coast operate in an entirely different financial stratosphere.

Top zip codes by average household income

Bay Area dominance

It is no coincidence that the top of California's income rankings is almost entirely Bay Area. What the data also shows is that wealth tends to cluster tightly — many of the state's top zip codes are within a 20-mile radius of each other in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. This is distinct from other wealthy states where high-income communities are more geographically dispersed.

Southern California: wealthy, but different

Southern California's highest-income zip codes — Montecito, Beverly Hills (90210), and La Cañada Flintridge — are wealthy by any national standard, but they don't reach the same income heights as their Northern California counterparts. The Los Angeles metro's median household income runs significantly below San Jose's, reflecting both the more diversified economic base of L.A. and the enormous geographic spread of the region.

The other side of the data

California's income data tells a story of extremes. The same state that contains some of the nation's wealthiest zip codes also has a poverty rate that runs above the national average when adjusted for cost of living. The Central Valley, Inland Empire, and parts of rural Northern California post median household incomes well below $60,000 — sometimes half of what households in Atherton or Los Altos bring home.