This Is The Wealthiest Town In MA

The wealthiest town in Massachusetts is Winchester, a suburb north of Boston where the household income is more than $149,000, according to a new report.

The financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St. reviewed median household incomes in every town, city, village, borough or census designated place with a population between 1,000 and 25,000, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

In Winchester, which has a population of 22,491, the median household income is more than double the state average of $70,954, the site says. Here's the entire breakdown for Winchester:

• Median household income: $149,321 (state: $70,954)
• Households earning $200,000 or more: 37.5% (state: 9.6%)
• Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 74.3% (state: 41.2%)
• Median home value: $796,500 (state: $341,000)
• Population: 22,491

"The typical household in the Boston suburb of Winchester earns $149,321 a year, the most of any town in Massachusetts," 24/7 Wall St. noted. "It is also the only town in the state where more than one in every three households earn at least $200,000 a year. With two stops on the commuter rail line, Winchester’s workforce has access to high-paying jobs in and around Boston, the state’s capital and largest city.

Like most wealthy towns, Winchester is home to a relatively well-educated population. Nearly three out of four adults in the town have a bachelor’s degree or higher. In comparison, fewer than one in three adults nationwide have a four-year college degree."

In nearly every state, regardless of wealth, at least one town has people who earn significantly more than a typical resident in the state and the typical American, the authors wrote.

Most of the richest towns have a relatively large number of college-educated people, the authors wrote. This is partly because at least a four-year college degree is required to qualify for many high-paying jobs. In all but four towns on the list, the share of adults with at least a bachelor's degree was greater than the statewide share and the nationwide share of 30.3 percent. The town with the highest median income was also often a pretty pricey place to live, the authors wrote.

"Not only can higher income individuals afford more expensive real estate, but high real estate costs also drive up median incomes as they attract higher income residents and are often often prohibitively expensive for most Americans," according to the site. All but three towns on the list have higher median home values than the typical U.S., home, which is worth $184,700, the site said. Each "richest" town also had higher median home value than the state.Many of the wealthiest towns are located near large cities and are "well within" commuting distance of a major urban center.

"Major urban areas are more likely to offer a wide range of high-paying jobs as well as a high concentration of cultural amenities like museums, theatres, concert venues, and professional sports teams," the authors wrote.
Some small towns where the margin of error was too high weren't included, the authors wrote. Click here to read the full methodology.

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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