Scottsdale replaces Austin as top wealth hub

AUSTIN, Texas — According to a new report, Austin is no longer the main attractor of the ultra wealthy, who have been setting their sights on a popular Arizona city.

Henley & Partners named Scottsdale, Ariz., the fastest-growing wealth hub in the U.S., with a 125% growth of millionaire residents from 2014 to 2024.

The wealth boom is thanks in part to the city’s rapidly expanding tech sector. West Palm Beach, the Bay Area, Miami and Washington, D.C. follow behind Scottsdale in this year’s ranking, showing Scottsdale’s noticeable climb above even the most distinguished tech hubs in the nation.

“While the Bay Area remains the epicenter of this innovation ecosystem and the top global destination for wealthy tech entrepreneurs, we’re also seeing a broader migration trend,” Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth said.

Scottsdale is currently home to 14,800 millionaires, 64 centi-millionaires (those worth $100 million) and five billionaires, the study shows.

Austin previously placed as the No. 1 city for the nation’s wealthiest people in the firm’s 2024 ranking, with Scottsdale just behind it at No. 2. In this year’s report, the Live Music Capital of the World didn’t even clear the top five.

Experts say the dropoff can be attributed to rising costs and the current slowdown of a pandemic-era tech boom that saw top companies like Tesla and Oracle moving their operations to the attractive Hill Country. Oracle has since relocated to Nashville, Tenn., and it seems that layoffs and return to office policies have driven some transplants away, the Wall Street Journal reports.