Inside Arizona's wealthiest zip code, where the average resident is 54 and the median home is $3.3M property
Paradise Valley, Arizona, which has been attracting the wealthy from California, has a median household income of $221,333.
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- Paradise Valley, Arizona, is attracting wealthy residents from across the US, especially California.
- The average resident of Paradise Valley is older and wealthier than the rest of the state.
- Nearly everyone in Paradise Valley owns their home, with a median sale price of $3.3 million.
Paradise Valley, Arizona, is among the places attracting millionaires from around the country, including residents of California looking to escape high taxes.
Dubbed the "Beverly Hills of Arizona," Paradise Valley is located in the desert hills northwest of Phoenix and just east of Scottsdale, another city attracting millionaires.
Though it's a relatively small community, Paradise Valley is known for its several high-end resorts, spacious and secluded lots, and natural beauty. Joan Levinson, a luxury real-estate agent in Arizona, previously told Business Insider that Paradise Valley offers residents privacy while still being a quick drive to big-city amenities.
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Maricopa County, which includes Paradise Valley and Scottsdale, is Arizona's most populated county. Data shows that several wealthy counties in California, including Santa Clara, Los Angeles, and Orange, are losing residents to Arizona, with many landing in Maricopa County.
Paradise Valley, in particular, has long attracted the rich and famous and for years topped a list of Arizona's wealthiest zip codes. Muhammad Ali, who died in 2016, and Stevie Nicks have lived there along with billionaires like Bennett Dorrance, the Campbell Soup heir, and the late Bruce Halle, the founder of Discount Tire.
The average resident of Paradise Valley is a 54-year-old, college-educated, married white man who makes more than $220,000 a year and owns a home that costs several million dollars, according to Census Bureau and real estate data.
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Most Paradise Valley residents own their homes, which are typically worth millions
With an estimated population of 12,658 as of 2020, Paradise Valley's median household income of $221,333 far surpasses that of Arizona and the US generally, which are both around $74,500.
More than seven out of 10 Paradise Valley residents have a bachelor's degree, while 34% have a graduate or professional degree.
The main industries in Paradise Valley are the hospitality and medical trades, but many residents are CEOs, professional athletes, and business owners who work outside the community, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority.
More than 95% of Paradise Valley residents own their homes, compared to just 67% of all Arizona residents.
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The median sale price for a home in Paradise Valley is $3.3 million, according to Redfin and Realtor.com. That's seven times greater than the statewide median sale price of $444,100. Over 82% of homes in Paradise Valley are worth a million dollars or more.
For the few Paradise Valley residents who don't own their home, the median gross rent was more than $3,500.
Residents of the Phoenix suburb also tend to be older than the state of Arizona and the larger US, which both have a median age of around 38.9.
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Paradise Valley residents are also slightly more likely to be male than female, unlike Arizona at large or the US, which both have more women than men.
More than 82% of residents were white as of 2020, while nearly 8% were Asian.