Want a clear view of where the biggest incomes cluster? The IRS publishes ZIP-code tax stats that show average adjusted gross income (AGI) per return, based on actual filings. These figures swing year to year, especially in small, ultra-wealthy enclaves where a few big capital-gains years can move the needle, but they’re still the cleanest national apples-to-apples snapshot we have. Below are the richest ZIPs on record in the latest available IRS release for Tax Year 2022, ranked by average AGI. Use this as a map of where income, not home prices, truly concentrates.
1. Miami Beach’s Fisher Island (33109), Florida
Fisher Island leads the nation by a wide margin thanks to a tiny filer base of ultra-high earners, many with substantial investment and business income. The island’s exclusivity, reachable only by ferry or boat, helps explain how a handful of very large returns can push the average so high. For context, IRS ZIP code tables show this enclave’s average AGI at roughly four and a half million dollars per return, several times the U.S. average, making it the outlier among outliers in 2022.
2. Palm Beach (33480), Florida
Old-line wealth and newer fortunes meet in Palm Beach, where large portfolios and trust income often outweigh wages. The IRS data peg average AGI here around $3.0 million per return in 2022, with thousands of returns in the ZIP enough to show this isn’t just a statistical fluke. High concentrations of capital gains, dividends, and pass-through business income help keep Palm Beach near the top of the income league tables year after year.
3. Naples (34102), Florida
In central Naples, think Olde Naples and Port Royal, the mix of luxury real estate and investment-heavy tax returns produces one of the nation’s highest averages. IRS ZIP tables show average AGI around $1.68 million per return for 2022, reflecting both long-time residents and in-migration of high-net-worth households. With relatively few returns compared with a big metro ZIP, a single blockbuster year of gains can move the average, but 34102 has been consistently elite.
4. Palo Alto (94301), California
Downtown/Crescent Park Palo Alto isn’t just about tech salaries. IRS data for 2022 show average AGI around $1.64–$1.65 million per return, with capital gains doing much of the heavy lifting. In boom years, stock and property sales can swell the average; in slower markets, it dips, but 94301 still ranks among the very highest in the country thanks to concentrated equity wealth.
5. Palo Alto (94304), California
Home to Stanford-adjacent neighborhoods and research park wealth, 94304 posts a similarly towering average AGI about $1.60 million per return in 2022 on a smaller filer base. As with 94301, investment income dominates wages in a typical year. The result: two neighboring ZIPs that both land in the national top five on the strength of outsized capital gains and significant dividend and interest income.
6. Atherton (94027), California
Atherton remains a shorthand for concentrated wealth. The IRS shows average AGI near $1.59 million per return in 2022, still sky-high even after comedowns from peak “unicorn” years. Estates, stock-based windfalls, and private-company exits continue to define the income mix, keeping 94027 on any credible ranking of America’s richest ZIPs.
7. Mill Neck (11765), New York
This small North Shore Long Island village posts an average AGI above $1.3 million per return for 2022 in IRS tables, reflecting a tax base heavy on investment income. With relatively few returns, Mill Neck’s average can swing, but it routinely sits near the top due to deep, multigenerational wealth and high-value portfolios.
8. Los Angeles (90067), California
Centered on Century City, 90067 benefits from proximity to major entertainment, legal, and finance hubs and a dense cluster of high-end condos with investor owners. The IRS pegs average AGI at roughly $1.27 million per return for 2022, a reminder that a handful of commercial-real-estate and media fortunes can move the needle even in a large city.
9. Kenilworth (60043), Illinois
Chicago’s North Shore has long been a byword for high incomes. In 2022, IRS ZIP data put Kenilworth’s average AGI just over $1.20 million per return, one of the rare Midwestern ZIPs to crack the million-plus tier. While executive pay matters, investment income and business ownership stakes are big contributors to the lofty average.
10. Gladwyne (19035), Pennsylvania
On Philadelphia’s Main Line, Gladwyne combines old-money estates with finance and professional incomes. The IRS shows average AGI around $1.20 million per return in 2022, keeping 19035 among the nation’s elite. With a modest filer count, large capital gains and dividends can dominate the income mix in any given year.
