Yahoo Finance 1 in 24 New Yorkers are millionaires despite reports of rich Americans fleeing south. How does your city fare?
Since the pandemic, news stories and economic pundits have suggested rich folk are leaving New York faster than you can say “Sun Belt” or “no state income tax.” Official data does show that the state has been losing a few thousand millionaires a year.
But the Big Apple still boasts more millionaires than Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or St. Louis have people.
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While all those major-league cities have populations slightly higher than 300,000, New York is home to 349,500 millionaires — the most of any city in the world and up nearly 50% from a decade ago. That's according to the World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2024 from Henley & Partners, an immigration consultancy for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
This means roughly 1 in 24 New Yorkers are millionaires, an astonishing fact given a total population of 8.3 million as of 2023. The city now has more millionaires — defined in the report as those with liquid investable wealth in the seven digits or more — than Shanghai, Chicago and Toronto combined. It’s also home to 744 centi-millionaires (investable wealth of over $100 million) and 60 billionaires.
Together New Yorkers hold wealth of more than $3 trillion, easily exceeding the GDP of France, Russia or Canada.
Here’s how the Big Apple — or the Big Golden Apple, if you prefer — compares to major cities in America and worldwide.
How NYC stacks up (the cash) against other cities
As you might expect, the San Francisco Bay area with its cadre of high-tech tycoons finishes second to New York in the rankings of top cities for millionaires.
While it’s home to a mere 305,700 millionaires, don’t shed a diamond-crusted tear, dear readers: San Fran boasts a world-topping 68 billionaires, leaving NYC in the second spot with 60.
Among the top 10 cities worldwide, you’ll find Los Angeles as the only other American city. It ranks sixth, with 212,100 millionaires; Chicago, the next U.S. metropolis on the list, takes the 12th spot with about 120,500. Combine those two cities, and you still don’t top New York’s mind-boggling numbers.
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All four American cities share healthy double-digit millionaire growth. Between 2013 and 2023, San Francisco’s millionaire club jumped 82%; Los Angeles is up 45% and Chicago by 22%. By comparison, three top 10 cities on the list have seen a decline in millionaire residents: Tokyo, London and Hong Kong (ranked third, fifth and ninth) are down 5%, 10% and 4% respectively.
Three Texas cities in the report are also worth highlighting.
Houston is among the top 20 cities for millionaires with 90,900 calling it home, a staggering jump of 70% from 2013.
Meanwhile, Austin has enjoyed the third-highest millionaire growth rate in the world, behind China’s Shenzhen and Hangzhou. The number of millionaires in what is being called "Silicon Hills" has more than doubled to 32,700 in a single decade. California tech workers moving to the city have had a major impact on its real estate market.
Dallas is in the 22nd spot with 68,600 millionaires, ahead of global hubs like Mumbai and Shenzhen.
Wall Street South vs. Wall Street North
Miami may not rival New York: It’s home to 35,300 millionaires and ranked 33rd. But so much has been made of the Sunshine State attracting the well-to-do that a recent Bloomberg article refers to it as “Wall Street South.” The count is up 78% from 2013, which coincides with an exodus of New Yorkers during the pandemic. Many went to Florida, which passed the Empire State to become the nation's second most valuable housing market last year, according to Zillow.
New York City’s population dropped an estimated 5% during the pandemic years, U.S. Census Bureau figures show. It's speculated that factors like the lack of a state income tax and warm weather made Florida a destination.
Yet the Sun Belt stampede can’t be that bad if you can still fit 10 Miamis in New York as millionaire counts go.
And New York, Manhattan especially, will always appeal to the wealthy for reasons that never fade. It’s a cultural mecca as home to the Metropolitan Opera and Metropolitan Museum of Art, the No. 1 city in America for dining and drink as ranked by Food & Wine — and since Brexit, the financial capital of the world.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
