Two questions present themselves when considering the geographic concentration of high-income households. First, where do most high-income households live? Second, where are the highest concentrations of high-income households? This brief answers the first question by estimating the number of high-income households in each area. This brief answers the second question by presenting estimates of the proportions of households that are among the top 5 percent.

This brief is based on data from the American Community Survey pooled across survey years 2007 through 2011, referring to income received from January 2006 to November 2011.¹ During this period, the top 5 percent of households received at least $191,469 per year.²

Figure 1 depicts the number of high-income households in each county, while Figure 2 maps the number of all households in each county. These figures illustrate that, like the general population, most high-income households lived in high-population counties, especially along the coasts.³

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¹ All income data are adjusted for inflation to 2011 dollars.
² Source: 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Base Table B19080: Household Income Quintile Upper Limits.
³ The correlation between the number of high-income households in each county and the number of other households was 0.88.