It's easy to picture millionaires walking the streets of New York City or Los Angeles − but there are quite a few in other U.S. cities, including three cities in Texas.
Many of the nation's 5,492,000 millionairesare hiding in plain sight, according to a recent report on the concentration of wealth in America. The U.S. has the most millionaires, centi-millionaires (people worth at least $100 million) and billionaires compared with any other country. More than 5.5 million Americans are millionaires, close to 10,000 Americans are centi-millionaires and 788 are billionaires.
New York City historically has one of the largest concentrations of wealth, with 349,500 millionaires. When adjusted for population, that number is one in every 24 people in the city.
The U.K. wealth firm Henley & Partners analyzed data fromNew World Wealthto produceits United States Wealth Report.
Here's where America's billionaires and millionaires reside:
3 Texas cities make list for highest number of millionaires
Houston, Dallas and Austin made the list of the top 10 U.S. cities with the most millionaires:
- Houston: 90,900 millionaires
- Dallas: 68,600 millionaires
- Austin: 32,700 millionaires
California's Bay Area, including San Francisco and Silicon Valley, has the greatest concentration of millionaires, with roughly 1 in 13 people claiming this status.Seattle follows withone in every 14 residents in the millionaire club.
The following cities have more than 25,000 millionaire residents (ranked by total number):
- New York City
- Bay Area (including San Francisco and Silicon Valley)
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- Houston
- Dallas
- Seattle
- Boston
- Miami
- Austin
- Washington, D.C.
The U.S. has the most liquid investable wealth of any country, with $67 trillion available. Liquid wealth includes listed company holdings, cash holdings and debt-free residential property holdings,according to the report.
More on Austin:Austin is home to 10 billionaires. Here's who they are, and how they made their money
Who are the richest people in Texas?
Here's a list of the top five richest people in Texas, based on net worth:
- Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and X (formerly Twitter): $187 billion
- Michael Dell, CEO of Dell: $99.5 billion
- Alice Walton, Walmart stockholder: $79.7 billion
- Elaine Marshall, Koch Industries director: $25.5 billion
- Autry Stephens, Endeavor Energy Resources founder: $23.4 billion
Change in the concentration of wealth over time
In 2023, about 30% of the nation's wealth was held by the top 1% of income earners, or $44.5 trillion dollars.
The top 20% of income earners in the U.S. experienced an increase in the share of wealth between 1990 and 2023,according to data from the Federal Reserve.At the same time, America's middle class — the middle 60% of income earners — has experienced a decline in its share of wealth during the past three decades, falling from nearly 40% to a little over 25%.
Why does Texas have so many billionaires?
There is no way to determine why so many billionaires call Texas home; however, a few trends are worth mentioning. Texas is one of only nine states that does not havea state income tax, which makes it an appealing location for high-wealth individuals.
Texas is also home to many of the most populous metro areas in America, such as San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Austin. Texas is home to the mostFortune 500 companies of any state, with 55.
America's newest billionaires
There are morebillionairesnow than ever before, with 265 people joining the exclusive club this year alone,according to Forbes.
Forbes discovered “2,781 people around the globe” — a record number of billionaires in 2024. Their wealth combined adds up to $14.2 trillion.
Todd Graves, the founder of fast-food chain restaurant Raising Cane’s is one of 67 Americans who made the list of billionaires this year. Graves’ net worth stands at an estimated $9.1 billion, Forbes reported.
Pop star Taylor Swift joined the list this year, amassing an estimated $1.1 billion fortune along with NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson,whose estimated net worth is $1.2 billion.
USA TODAY reporter Sara Chernikoff contributed to this report.
