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Five of the richest suburbs in the U.S. are located in Massachusetts, says study

Things are looking good in Wellesley

Christina Izzo
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Christina Izzo
Winchester, MA
Shutterstock | Winchester, MA
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Bostonians already know (all too well) that living in the Commonwealth requires just that—wealth. It's plenty pricy to live in Beantown, with Boston regularly listed among the world's most expensive cities to live in and the city's average monthly renting clearing New York City and San Francisco as the highest average rent in the country. And that expense extends outside of the city proper into the Greater Boston area.

It's not surprising to hear, then, that Massachusetts residents are cashed up, at least according to a new study by personal finance site GoBankingRates.com, which ranked the top 50 wealthiest suburbs in America, based on average household income data from 2023. Though New York's Scarsdale took the top spot as America's wealthiest suburb for the second year in a row, five Boston suburbs made the moneyed list, and one even made the top ten. 

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Located about 15 miles outside of Boston, the town of Wellesley, MA came in at No. 10, with a casual average household income of $368,179. (For reference, in number one finisher Scarsdale, the average household income came out to a whopping $601,193.) Wellesley was joined in the top 10 by Rye, New York (in second place); Texan spots like West University Place (at No. 3), University Park (at No. 6) and Southlake (at No. 7); Californian havens like Los Altos (at No. 4), Alamo (No. 5) and Orinda (at No. 9); and Hinsdale, IL at number eight. 

Elsewhere in Massachusetts, Lexingtonthe home of the American Revolutionclocked in at No. 32 on the suburbs list, with an average household income of more than $300,000 in 2023. Winchester, MA, known for its Victorian architecture and tree-lined streets, wasn't far behind at No. 35, with a household income average of $296,327.

About ten miles from Boston, you'll find Needham, which came in at No. 43 with an average 2023 household income of just over $281,000 and an average home value at nearly $1.6 million. The last of the Boston 'burbs spotlighted on the list was Newton, highly regarded for its public school system, green spaces and safe neighborhoods—it rounded things out at No. 49, with an average household income of $261,666. 

You can check out the full list of top 50 wealthiest suburbs in the U.S. here.

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