The number of million-dollar homes is increasing across the U.S., but they're highly concentrated in certain places, according to a November LendingTree analysis.
Nearly 11% of primary residences across the 50 largest U.S. cities were worth $1 million or more in 2023, per LendingTree's analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data. That's up from around 8% in 2022.
San Jose, California, tops the list of U.S. metros with the highest share of million-dollar homes with 72% of owner-occupied homes worth over $1 million, according to LendingTree. It's a pricey place to live in general: Homes in San Jose sell for a median of $1.4 million, per Realtor.com data — over 200% more than the national median home price of $420,400.
San Jose isn't the only California metro area with a large share of million-dollar homes. San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego earned the next three spots on the list.
Although New York is known for being a costly place to live, it came in seventh on LendingTree's list. However, it's worth pointing out while New York has a lower percentage of million-dollar homes, it has a higher total number of them than San Jose or San Francisco.
Here are the 10 U.S. metro areas with the highest share of $1 million homes, according to LendingTree.
1. San Jose, California
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 71.57%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 267,751
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $1,393,400
2. San Francisco
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 56.57%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 551,606
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $1,105,100
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3. Los Angeles
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 36.42%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 797,553
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $867,200
4. San Diego
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 34.83%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 224,035
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $864,900
5. Seattle
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 25.96%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 252,908
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $712,200
6. Boston
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 17.22%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 206,708
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $646,600
7. New York
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 16.17%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 618,642
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $610,200
8. Washington, DC
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 14.04%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 214,807
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $574,000
9. Denver
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 12.4%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 97,425
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $611,300
10. Miami
- Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 11.43%
- Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 166,014
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $474,000
It's no secret that it can be expensive to buy a home in California.
Money Report
Hopeful homebuyers would need to earn over $468,000 a year to afford to buy a home in San Jose and would need to bring in around $335,000 to purchase one in San Francisco without spending more than 25% of their income on housing, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
But California's pricey real estate market coupled with elevated costs of living may be causing high earners to set their sights elsewhere.
California has seen the largest number of households between the ages of 26 and 35 who earn over $200,000 move out of the state, according to an August SmartAsset analysis of migration data from the Internal Revenue Service. Meanwhile, Florida and Texas saw the highest influx of young high earners.
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