These are the most expensive ZIP codes for housing in America:
1. 90274, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA
2. 94506, Danville, CA
3. 92861, Villa Park, CA
4. 07458, Saddle River, NJ
5. 91008, Duarte, CA
6. 06883, Weston, CT
7. 06878, Greenwich, CT
8. 07620, Alpine, NJ
9. 93108, Santa Barbara, CA
10. 95120, San Jose, CA
A few of these are probably hardly shockers to you and some others you may have never heard of before. Either way, you might want to check out our top 50, which you can find in the table at the bottom of this article.
You can also see how we used the U.S. Census American Community Survey (2008-2012) to research these places, and what criteria we used in the final section of this article.
For now, let’s take a moment to explore each of these top 10 ZIP codes in a little more depth, starting with our winner.
1. 90274, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA
If you want to see where the rich live, love, and play, then you’ve come to the right spot. This area is all about affluence, beautiful views, and culture. Of course, you pay a pretty penny to indulge in all that, to the tune of over $1,000,000 in median home prices.
Okay, so maybe renting would be better? Not so, as the rent tied for the most expensive on our list, if you can even find a place to rent, that is. If you do own a home, your monthly costs to just keep the home tidy and powered are huge, as they ranked 74th highest on our list, at $3,353 per month on average.
So yes, this is an amazing ZIP to live in, but you’ll pretty much need to be a millionaire to do it.
2. 94506, Danville, CA
This city has a wealth of culture and nature, and you certainly have to be wealthy to live there. The store prices are high, the cost of living is high, and don’t even get us started on the home costs! Well, actually do get us started, because that’s what we’re here for. In rent alone, locals spent easily more than $2,000 per month on average.
If you’re a homeowner, it’s even worse. People who lived in this lovelyCalifornia locale spent a median of $961,700 to buy a home and then spent over $4,000 per month for selected homeowner costs. So unless you’re rolling in green, this Danville ZIP is probably out of your reach.
3. 92861, Villa Park, CA
Were you surprised to see so many California ZIP codes in our top 10? Yeah, we really weren’t either. This one in particular makes a lot of sense, given that the median home value here was ranked 94th on our list at $978,600. The renting situation wasn’t any better, and was very limited, with a median monthly cost that tied for first on our list.
One real shocker was the amount of money spent by homeowners every month, the 24th most on our list at $3,733. We know people will pay a lot to live in Orange County, close to the ocean, and in such an affluent area, but really? That all seems a little ridiculous.
4. 07458, Saddle River, NJ
A few of you might be thinking, really? New Jersey? Yes, really, and in a big way. This ZIP code with a population of 11,351 contained houses with a median value of $965,300, the 98th highest on our list. Considering that rank is out of over 28,000, that’s really saying something.
More than that, the monthly homeowner costs here were very high, the 30th highest on our list in fact. Local homeowners paid $3,661 on average per month on selected costs to keep their household running. And if you decide you just want to rent, good luck finding many options, especially any options under $2,000 per month.
5. 91008, Duarte, CA
This Los Angeles County ZIP code, yet another in California, is located on legendary Route 66. But to get your kicks in this area, you have to be packing quite a fat wallet. For starters, the median home values here were $952,100, which was lower than places like Palos Verdes Peninsula, but still pretty unaffordable for most people.
The rent here was also very high, often completely impossible for the general populace, and even homeowners weren’t exempt from giant monthly bills. Anyone who owned a home here paid a median monthly total of $3,804 on homeowner costs. For a ZIP code of only 1,122 people, that’s a high price for fancy living.
6. 06883, Weston, CT
Venturing into the Devil’s Den (nature preserve, that is) has never looked so daunting. It’s true that Connecticut has a ton of affluent communities, but this one is definitely top dollar in the housing department. This ZIP code had a slightly lower median home value than other spots, at only $906,900, but that’s still out of most peoples’ price ranges and ranked No. 135 for that criteria.
Renters here weren’t going to find any breaks either, considering the median rent price was tied for the highest on our list. The median monthly homeowner costs here were also tied for the highest on our list, at over $4,000. Doesn’t your wallet hurt just thinking about that?
7. 06878, Greenwich, CT
This little sliver of the town of Greenwich is easily one of the most wealthy on our list. The ZIP code encompasses the neighborhoods of Riverside and North Mianus, as well as some truly jaw-dropping homes. For starters, the median home value here is over $1,000,000 and tied for No. 1 on our list.
The rent here similarly ranked as the home values and was way out of reach for anyone not making a massive paycheck. Though even then, perhaps renting would be the way to go, considering the median monthly homeowner costs here were $3,155, ranking 136th.
8. 07620, Alpine, NJ
Even the name of this Bergen County borough sounds elevated, and that’s certainly a good adjective for the rent here. You won’t find any cheap one bedroom apartments, and the median rent tied for first on our list. Homeowners didn’t fare much better, as their median monthly costs are $3,129, ranking No. 144.
However, the standout score for this pricey ZIP is the median home value of well over $1,000,000, tied for the highest on our list. It’s no wonder, then, that people like Britney Spears, Stevie Wonder, and Jay-Z have all chosen to call this place home at some point in their lives.
9. 93108, Santa Barbara, CA
This little portion of a much larger, historic, and beautiful city is pretty much out of reach for anyone who isn’t a millionaire. Still, it doesn’t hurt to look, right? And considering the median home value here is over $1,000,000, it’s pretty easy to look with awe.
This ZIP code is part of the very wealthy community of Montecito and so it makes sense that the rent is astronomically high. It also makes sense that the median monthly homeowner costs are $3,103, and that we’d be envious of living here but not envious of paying those bills. Yikes!
10. 95120, San Jose, CA
This place’s appearance on our list might come as a bit of a shocker. San Jose certainly has its bad parts, and its rent isn’t exactly higher than San Francisco, but this one small ZIP code earned its place on this list by the numbers alone. 95120 had a very high median rent and the 60th highest homeowner costs at $3,395.
The home prices here were also through the roof, ranking 127th. For this ZIP code, the median home value was $926,700. Also, we know you can’t own the Winchester Mystery House, but we won’t even try to guess the median home value of that place.
Pretty, But Oh So Pricey
Some of these locations are about as pretty as you can get, and the houses in these parts tend to be palace-like and drool-worthy. However, for that price tag? Yeah, we think we’ll have to pass.
Still, even if you’re not made of money, we can help you find a place to call home. We sell houses, after all, and we also know some less expensive ZIP codes that might be perfect for your needs.
Our Methodology
In order to create this Big Deal List, we didn’t go looking through housing listings (though we’re pretty good about that too). We instead looked at the U.S. Census Five Year Community Survey (2008-2012) in the following criteria:
- Median Home Value
- Median Gross Rent
- Median Selected Monthly Homeowner Costs
We omitted any place that did not report data, which left us with 28,241 ZIP codes. Then, we ranked each spot in each criteria from 1 to 28,241 with rankings closer to one being better. Once we had those rankings, we averaged each ZIP code’s ranking into one overall Big Deal Score, and the spot with the lowest number for that score became our most expensive spot.
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