We’ve been going around state by state and investigating what the most expensive ZIP codes. Here, however, we want to turn to larger geographical units; namely, counties. Because of their size, counties can conceal major discrepancies in incomes and home values, unlike ZIP codes. This is why we wanted to investigate which are the wealthiest and most expensive counties.
Relying on data from Zillow’s home value index, and the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, we analyzed over 3,000 counties across the U.S. in order to compile our list of the top 50 most expensive counties. As part of our analysis, we took into consideration the latest monthly home values Zillow has — September 2024 — as well as the average of 12 months of median home values from October 2023 to September 2024.
Read on to discover what the 50 most expensive counties in the U.S. are.
The Most Expensive Counties in America
Not surprisingly, California has the most counties on our list of the top 50 most expensive, with 18 entries. Colorado comes in second with 7 out of 50 counties; then Virginia with 5 out 50 counties; followed by numerous ties.
Below you’ll find a table of the 50 most expensive counties in the U.S.
One of the most startling data points is the five-year percentage change in home values, from September 2019 to September 2024. It’s in these figures where you can plainly see the pandemic-induced housing surge. For instance, in the No. 3 most expensive county — Teton County, Wyoming — the median home value increased by 91.9%, meaning it almost doubled, from $1.177 million in September 2019 to $2.258 million in September 2024. In the No. 17 most expensive county — Routt County, Colorado — home values exploded by 88.3%; in Eagle County, Colorado by 86.4%; in Teton County, Idaho by 85.8%; in Pitkin, Colorado by 84.3%.
The Top 5 Most Expensive Counties
Nantucket County, which is just a casual term for the formal term Town and County of Nantucket, ranks as the No. 1 most expensive county in the U.S. The 12-month average home value here is $2.709 million, and in September 2024, the median home value reached $2.775 million. That’s up 5.2% since September 2023 ($2.639 million) and up 57.5% since September 2019 ($1.761 million). Nantucket County is one of three Massachusetts counties to make the top 50 list. In Nantucket County 17% of households earn $150,000 or more a year.
The No. 2 most expensive county is Pitkin County, Colorado. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s the county that’s home to Aspen, Snowmass, Snowmass Village, and other highly coveted and pricey resort towns. Pitkin County experienced absurd home value appreciation rates over the last five years. The median home value grew by 84.3%, from $1.323 million in September 2019 to $2.437 million in September 2024. Equally impressive, the median home value rose by 10.6% in just the last year. The tricky thing about Pitkin County, though, is that home values are soaring, but local incomes can’t support such pricey properties. For all the elegant ski resort towns in Pitkin County, the median household income is still only $68,621 and the mean $92,370.
The No. 3 most expensive county in America is Teton County, Wyoming; Teton County, Wyoming, also made our top 50 list. Teton County is in northwest Wyoming, covering Yellowstone National Park. Places like Teton Village, Jackson, and, of course, Jackson Hole. This county witnessed the biggest five-year growth in home values out of the top 50 most expensive counties. From a median of $1.177 million in September 2019, it rise by 91.9% to approximately $2.258 million in September 2024.
The fourth most expensive county is Santa Clara County, California. Santa Clara County encompasses Santa Clara, San Jose and its wealthy suburbs, like Milpitas and Los Gatos, as well as Mountain View, Stanford, Palo Alto, down to Gilroy in the south. Being home to Silicon Valley, not to mention being part of the San Francisco Bay Area, makes it unsurprising that Santa Clara County ranks among the most expensive counties in the country. Home value appreciation here has been solid, though not at the pace of the No. 2 and No. 3 most expensive counties. From a median home valuer of $1.110 million in September 2019, it rose by 44.2%, reaching $1.601 million in September 2024. Unlike the resort-type counties of Nantucket, Pitkin, and Teton, Santa Clara County does have the incomes to maintain such expensive housing markets. More than 26% of households in Santa Clara County have incomes of $150,000 or more.
The Bottom Line on the Most Expensive Counties in America
A somewhat alarming pattern among the most expensive counties in the country, and unfortunately increasingly almost everywhere, is the growing gap between incomes and home values. Home values and thus prices soared several months into the pandemic as a buying spree took hold across the U.S. They haven’t come back down to earth. Incomes have certainly increased, but largely in step with inflation and not at all in step with housing costs.
Another thing to remember is that these million-dollar home value figures you’re seeing here are not cities: The over $1.6 million median home values for Santa Clara County is indeed the median for the whole county; meaning, for instance, the more than $1.6 million median home value for Santa Clara County takes into account the home values for all the cities, towns, and villages in the county, stretching from San Francisco Bay deep into the interior of the state: That is a very large area to have a median home value that high. A non-California example is the No. 30 most expensive county in the U.S. — Williamson County, Tennessee. This county covers a huge region south of Nashville, centered on the county seat of Franklin. This county of well over 247,000 people had a median home value in September 2024 of $870,039. That is up 68% over the last five years, from $517,981 back in September 2019.
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