Top-Earning Towns

Luxe homes, enormous schools and elite communities. It takes a big wages to live large in these posh patches.

1. Bethesda, MD

Population: 61,511

Median family income: $184,606

Median home price: $740,000

A simple commute from Washington D.C., Bethesda is a hotspot for the extremely educated, with nearly half of its inhabitants boasting a graduate or qualified degree. That may give details the incomes -- the highest on our list this year.

2. Greenwich, CT

Population: 62,074

Median family income: $167,502

Median home price: $1,901,029

Greenwich isn't just another good-looking town on Connecticut's Long Island Sound, or even the bordering to Manhattan. It's also a attraction for hedge funds and boutique monetary service companies.

3. Palo Alto, CA

Population: 65,260

Median family income: $163,661

Median home price: $1,225,000

Nestled in California's Silicon Valley, Palo Alto has concerned a pile of tech companies -- and their CEOs. Not only does tech granddaddy HP have its head office here, but so do newbies like Pinterest and Ning.

4. Newport Beach, CA

Population: 83,377

Median family income: $156,928

Median home price: $1,118,250

As its name propose, Newport Beach offers heaps of water right of entry with 10 miles of opulent coastline -- and the upscale waterfront accommodation to match. With a standard winter high of 64 degrees, residents can enjoy the city's oceanfront all year long.

5. Lower Merion, PA

Population: 58,618

Median family income: $153,309

Median home price: $553,498

Part of Pennsylvania's wealthy Main Line passage that popped up the length of the rail line of the same name, Lower Merion got its start when railroad executive built huge summer homes here.

6. Ashburn, VA

Population: 59,790

Median family income: $146,093

Median home price: $345,000

Wealthy Washington Redskins fans should be delighted to live in Ashburn, since the team's training camp calls it home. Some of the players even suspend their helmets here.

7. Newton, MA

Population: 84,655

Median family income: $145,639

Median home price: $650,000

Run the Boston marathon for your own little tour of housing Newton and its posh and momentous housing stock—wealthy residents pay top dollar for homes in one of 13 villages, each with its own cluster of shops, and allied by a network of tree-lined beautiful roads and golf courses.

8. Hoboken, NJ

Population: 52,151

Median family income: $140,780

Median home price: $491,250

With waterfront views of the Manhattan skyline and a solid grid packed with outdoor cafes, bars, and shops, Hoboken draws its fair share of upper crust commuters. Many of them take the city's rail or ferry lines into New York City.

9. Brookline, MA

Population: 59,142

Median family income: $139,756

Median home price: $565,000

Brookline enjoys a standing as one of the top-notch suburbs of Boston, and its status and closeness give confidence housing prices that tiptoe into seven figures—the price its residents pay for exclusivity.

10. Fairfield, CT

Population: 59,616

Median family income: $136,808

Median home price: $618,417

If you want an upscale home that's walking aloofness to the beach, downtown and to your person along for the ride train, Fairfield is your one-stop suburb. Located on the Long Island Sound, the city offers five miles of seashore and a town-owned harbor for locals looking to tie up their yachts.