AdAge Researches America’s Richest ZIP Codes

Commissioned by Advertising Age magazine, geographic information-systems software and data supplier ESRI has compiled new research for Advertising Age’s American Demographics focusing on the richest ZIP codes in the United States. According to the research, 45 of the nation’s 50 most affluent ZIP codes hug the East and West coasts, while areas of Chicago’s North Shore make the list three times. Atlanta’s Buckhead region is the South’s sole outpost in this rich territory and the sun spot of Paradise Valley, Ariz., rounds out the list.

Coincidentally, a number of companies featured on the 2004 Lawn & Landscape Top 100 list are near these areas as well. Fourteen of the 15 Illinois companies on the list are within driving distance of the Chicagoland ZIP codes, while 11 of 13 California companies are in affluent ZIP regions. Two of three Top 100 companies from Arizona are near Paradise Valley, while three of four Washington companies are outside Medina, Wash.

Check the map and Top 50 ZIP codes below to see if you’re near a potential goldmine. The top 10 ZIP codes were all on the coasts.

ELITE HOUSEHOLDS. According to the AdAge research and report, the 50 most affluent ZIP codes are home to 201,799 households and 565,125 residents. Though only 0.2 percent of the U.S. population, this group represents an average household income of $294,000 – four times the national average of $67,572 – and an average net worth of $1.2 million – about three times the national average of $486,970.

Studying demographic data, the research shows that, overall, the rich aren’t much different from one city to the next. Across cities and regions, they universally spend big money on home improvements (average annual spending: $10,400) and luxury cars. They go to more live theater. They watch far less prime-time TV and read more news magazines. They travel abroad for business and pleasure. They are nearly twice as likely as the average American to shop online and four times as likely to tune their radios to classical music.

But sift through the data, and you will see subtle differences among regions and cities in consumer purchases and activities, according to Market Potential Indexes supplied by ESRI using data from Mediamark Research.

The Northeast accounts for nearly two-thirds of the ritzy ZIPs (32) and more than half of the affluent ZIPs’ population (about 320,000). The greater New York area – including the winding roads of Westchester County, Connecticut and northern New Jersey – is home to 24 top ZIPs and 256,000 residents. Two of the nation’s hubs of old money, Philadelphia and Boston, account for most of the region’s remaining wealthy ZIPs.

HEAD WEST, OLD MAN. AdAge reports that one surprise in its data is that the West Coast is home to older homeowners than other regions. The median age of the rich list’s 14 West Coast ZIPs is 46 – four to five years above that of affluent ZIPs in other regions. But this doesn’t have to do with “sunbelt retirees,” the magazine says. In actuality, The median age in Los Altos, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley, is higher than that of Paradise Valley, Ariz. The digital district of Silicon Valley, then, is getting old, AdAge reporter Bradley Johnson says, noting that Apple Computer cofounder Steve Jobs now qualifies for membership in AARP. In Southern California, the aging residents of Santa Monica 90402 visit the gym more than their cohorts in any other ritzy 50 ZIP. They’re heading toward age 50, but rich residents of that seaside town are not about to surrender their youth.

Read more of Johnson’s report “Exploring America’s Richest ZIP Codes” for more demographic information. Also, visit Lawn & Landscape’s Online Message Board to share ideas on how you and your industry colleagues can capitalize on well-to-do would-be landscape customers.