America’s millionaires are flocking to smaller cities. Please take a look at the top 5 emerging hotspots for the country’s richest people.

1. Austin, TX
2. West Palm Beach, FL
3. Scottsdale, AZ
4. Miami, FL
5. Darien and Greenwich, CT

A new wealth analysis by the London firm Henley & Partners shows that as the number of wealthy people moving to big cities like Los Angeles and New York City slows down, billionaires are moving to smaller cities in the United States, even if they own trophy properties in New York City.

Mehdi Kadiri, who is in charge of the company’s operations in North America, has recently seen a “semigration” of wealthy people.

From 2012 to 2022, the number of millionaires in New York City increased by 40%, while the same period saw increases of 24% and 35% in Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively.

According to Andrew Amoils, head of research at consultancy New World Wealth, that’s below the metropolitan average of 48% over the last decade. The company from South Africa assisted Henley & Partners in gathering information.

New York City is home to 340,000 millionaires, while Los Angeles has 205,400 and Chicago has 124,000, according to Henley & Partners.

Yet the company singled out five less-than-major American towns that experienced the largest increase rate of high-net-worth individuals over the past decade.

Austin, TX

Millionaire population growth rate in the last decade: 102%

Number of millionaire residents as of 2022: 30,500

Number of residents with $100 million or more in assets as of 2022: 86

Number of billionaire residents as of 2022: 9

Austin saw the highest millionaire growth rate between 2012 and 2022, with 30,500 people with $1 million or more in assets living in the city, according to Henley & Partners.

No state income tax and lots of space in the Texan city of around 1 million people has boosted its luxury real estate sector, wrote Nikki Greenberg, the founder of consultancy Real Estate of the Future, in the report.

Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta have recently expanding there. And in November 2019, Apple announced a new $1 billion campus in Austin.

However, the city has seen somewhat of a hit with mass layoffs now ripping through the tech industry, Greenberg wrote.

West Palm Beach, FL

Millionaire population growth rate in the last decade: 90%

Number of millionaire residents as of 2022: 9,400

Number of residents with $100 million or more in assets as of 2022: 64

Number of billionaire residents as of 2022: 6

While West Palm Beach has the fewest number of millionaire residents on Henley & Partners’ ranking, the city of 117,000 people is also one of the least populated areas on the list.

Many wealthy individuals have taken advantage of hybrid and remote working as a result of the pandemic, moving to beautiful locations or places with summer weather, Greenberg wrote.

“The pandemic prompted many Americans to turn their second homes into primary residences, which had both lifestyle and taxation benefits,” she wrote.

Scottsdale, AZ

Millionaire population growth rate in the last decade: 88%

Number of millionaire residents as of 2022: 13,900

Number of residents with $100 million or more in assets as of 2022: 60

Number of billionaire residents as of 2022: 5

Scottsdale, a suburb inside the Phoenix metropolitan area, has around 242,000 residents, and 13,900 millionaires, per Henley & Partners.

The bump in millionaires is largely because of Scottsdale’s fast-growing tech scene and rising real-estate sector, said Amoils, the head of research at New World Wealth. 

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area has around 158,000 tech workers, according to non-profit trade association CompTIA.

Top-end lifestyle and golf estates in Scottsdale have attracted many wealthy individuals from nearby Phoenix, and even from California, Amoils added.

Home prices in Scottsdale have soared over the last five years. The value of a typical home in Scottsdale has jumped from around $450,000 in 2018 to a peak $800,000 in September, according to data from Zillow.

Miami, FL

Millionaire population growth rate in the last decade: 75%

Number of millionaire residents as of 2022: 38,000

Number of residents with $100 million or more in assets as of 2022: 160

Number of billionaire residents as of 2022: 12

Much of Miami’s millionaire boom has come from an explosion in cryptocurrency-related riches, which is ushering in a new era of wealth there, wrote Greenberg.

“Crypto-friendly Miami has attracted cryptocurrency businesses and has also seen a spate of technology and real estate headquarters opening,” wrote the real estate firm CEO.

But that also means the city of 440,000 is at risk of an “easy come, easy go” situation, Greenberg warned.

The 2022 crypto crash has thrown blockchain companies in Miami into disarray, given the “recent scarcity of crypto high rollers who once proliferated,” she wrote.

Still, Miami is expected to rebound despite a slump in 2022, “due to factors that have traditionally made it a preferred location for buyers, such as its relaxed lifestyle and warm climate,” Greenberg wrote.

Darien and Greenwich, CT

Millionaire population growth rate in the last decade: 72%

Number of millionaire residents as of 2022: 11,900

Number of residents with $100 million or more in assets as of 2022: 112

Number of billionaire residents as of 2022: 8

Connecticut’s neighboring towns of Greenwich and Darien have a combined population of around 85,000 people, and 11,900 millionaire residents. That means nearly 15% of people living there have upwards of $1 million in assets.

Greenwich in particular is becoming increasingly popular among hedge fund millionaires, said Amoils. Taxes there are considerably lower than in nearby New York City, he added.

“It’s also a very nice place to raise a family,” Amoils said.

Gun violence concerns and rising crime rates, among other factors, have driven many of America’s wealthy to move abroad or shift their primary residences, Henley & Partners wrote.