1. Wealthy people are increasingly choosing destinations like Austin, Miami, and Scottsdale over traditional economic centers like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
2. Scottsdale, Palm Beach, and posh Connecticut suburbs are among the smaller spots poised for significant wealth growth in the future.
3. While major hubs may have more millionaires, these smaller cities are experiencing much higher rates of growth in their wealthy populations.
Henley & Partners, a consulting firm, suggests that traditional economic centers like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago may no longer hold the same appeal for millionaires and billionaires. Instead, a “millionaire remix” is occurring as wealthy individuals are choosing to settle in cities farther away from these hubs. Cities like Austin, Miami, and Scottsdale are seeing an influx of wealthy residents, while the more established centers are experiencing slower growth or even declines in wealthy populations.
The firm tracks the movements of high-net-worth individuals using data from New World Wealth and has identified smaller cities that are poised for significant wealth growth in the near future. Cities like Palm Beach, Florida, the Connecticut suburbs of Greenwich and Darien, and Scottsdale, Arizona are attracting wealthy individuals with lower taxes, quality-of-life improvements, and luxurious amenities like golf courses.
While these smaller cities may have fewer wealthy residents compared to major hubs like New York, their rate of growth in millionaire populations is much higher. For example, Scottsdale has significantly fewer millionaires than New York but has experienced a 102% growth in its millionaire population from 2013 to 2023, while New York saw a 48% increase over the same period. Henley & Partners project that cities like Scottsdale, Palm Beach, and the Connecticut suburbs will continue to attract more wealthy residents in the coming years.