Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
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Can you guess where the most expensive Valley ZIP code is? If you’re thinking of a small, affluent Phoenix suburb at the base of Camelback Mountain, you might be onto something.
A study from real estate data company PropertyShark ranked the county’s 100 most expensive ZIP Codes so far this year. The company analyzed registered residential transactions of condo, co-op, and single- and two-family homes sales that closed between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30. From there, the company found the median sale price of homes within that period and ranked ZIP codes accordingly. Due to several ties, a total of 120 ZIP codes made the top 100.
But out of the 120 ZIP codes that made the list, one in Arizona was rich enough to make it. That ZIP code — 85253 — is home to the tony suburb of Paradise Valley. The 85253 ZIP code came in as the 23rd-most expensive, tied with three ZIP codes in the California towns of Belvedere, Diablo and Big Sur. The median sale price in the 85253 ZIP code so far this year is $3,500,000, an 8% year-over-year increase, according to PropertyShark. The ZIP code was Arizona’s most expensive for the seventh straight year.
This 18-square-mile area is home to just more than 17,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The median household income is $182,150 and more than 47% of the city’s population makes more than $200,000 a year. Many of its residents are professionals, business executives or retirees, drawn to the exclusive hamlet by the stunning desert and city views.
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If you’re looking to be surrounded by the rich and famous while not leaving the Valley, Paradise Valley is your best bet. It’s home to two of Arizona’s richest billionaires: Rob Walton, the oldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and CrowdStrike CEO and cofounder George Kurtz. Many celebrities — including rock legend Alice Cooper, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys, boxer Mike Tyson, actress Emma Stone and Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker — have a home in Paradise Valley.
While celebrities have flocked to mansions in Paradise Valley, PropertyShark’s list is still dominated by expensive ZIP codes in Arizona’s neighbor to the west, California. The Golden State made up 61% of the entries on PropertyShark’s list.
Out of the top ten most expensive ZIP codes, which included one tie, eight are in California. They are mostly concentrated in northern California around San Francisco, including in Altherton (No. 2) and Stinson Beach (No. 7), or in Southern California. Three Newport Beach ZIP codes (Nos. 4, 8 and 9) made the top 10, as did ZIP codes in Santa Barbara (No. 6) and Rancho Santa Fe (No. 10).
However, the most expensive ZIP code on PropertyShark’s list was Miami Beach, with a median sale price of $9,500,000. Two other Suffolk County ZIP codes in New York filled out the top 10, coming in at third and fifth, respectively.
