The Richest Town In Arizona Is Pretty Close To Tucson

TANQUE VERDE, AZ — Tanque Verde, a suburb of Tucson, is the wealthiest town in Arizona with a median household income of more than $93,000 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 Tanque Verde, which has about 16,500 residents, the median household income is $42,072 more than the state average.

Here’s the entire breakdown for the town.

• Median household income: $$93,412 (state: $51,340)
• Household incomes of at least $200,000: 14.2 percent (state: 4.2 percent)
• Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 50.4 percent (state: 28 percent)
• Median home value: $361,600 (state: $176,900)
• Population: 16,546

The Tanque Verde census area has the greatest concentration of wealth in Arizona. The typical area household earns $93,412 a year, more than anywhere else in the state. Additionally, 14.2% of all area households earn $200,000 or more a year, by far the largest share in the state and well above the 5.7% share of American households nationwide.

High-income areas are often home to large college-educated populations, and Tanque Verde is no exception. Tanque Verde is the only town in Arizona where over half of all adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Tanque Verde is in Pima County, just northeast of Tucson.

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,” the authors wrote.

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.

Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images