Millionaires are flocking to this Valley city in droves

Over the last ten years, millionaires have been flocking to one Arizona city. It’s become so popular among the wealthy that, over the last decade, only one other city in the world has seen a bigger increase in its number of millionaire residents.

Have an Arizona city in mind? Yes, it’s Scottsdale.

From 2014 to 2024, the number of millionaires in Scottsdale has grown by 125%, according to a study by the investment company Henley & Partners. Only Shenzhen, China, has increased its millionaire population by a higher percentage.

What’s driving this millionaire growth in Scottsdale? Real estate agents who have that kind of deep-pocketed clientele attribute the phenomenon to warm weather, strong tax benefits, restaurants, shopping and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. The city — as well as its neighbor, Paradise Valley — also markets itself as the playground and home base of the well-off.

“We have abundant sunshine, luxury golf courses, upscale shopping and really great fine dining experiences,” said Tiffany Carlson-Richison, a Scottsdale-based realtor. “The lifestyle appeals to wealthy individuals. It’s an absolutely amazing place to live.”

(If you’re rich, that is. Scottsdale consistently ranks among the most expensive places to live in the Valley, and has a NIMBYist allergy to building apartments, which tend to be rented by those from lower income brackets. “I don’t think we need to have housing that houses absolutely everybody,” Mayor Lisa Borowsky told KJZZ before she took office.)

According to the study, roughly 14,800 of the 240,000 people who live in Scottsdale are millionaires, or a little more than 6%. Much of the rising millionaire population can probably be attributed to transplants — not regular Scottsdale residents who hit it big, but millionaires who moved to Scottsdale for the weather or to retire.

“There are so many luxury, high-end and high-quality ways to spend your time,” said Scottsdale real estate agent John Gluch, which “is very attractive to people who have money.”

While Scottsdale is not cheap by any means, it has also drawn millionaires from California with the state’s “very reasonable,” flat income tax, Gluch said. Arizona “doesn’t penalize you for making more money,” he added. Carlson-Richison said wealthy individuals are also drawn to other policies in the state, such as school choice and Empowerment Scholarship Accounts — which, it should be noted, are supposed to help lower-income families send their kids to better schools.

But it isn’t just rich Californians who are flocking to Scottsdale. They’re coming from all over.

Carlson-Richison has worked with clients looking to move from Oregon, Washington and Hawaii, as well as Canadians looking for a second home for the winter. Gluch has worked with millionaires from places like Seattle and New York have decided to retire in Scottsdale.

It used to be a more popular contest between Florida and Scottsdale for retirees, Gluch said. But, due to an influx of tropical storms in recent years and the expensive insurance that comes with it, retirees have been leaning toward Scottsdale. Absent from recurring natural disasters outside of extreme heat, the city has also welcomed Californians whose homes were destroyed by wildfires.

And while most of Scottsdale’s millionaires brought their wealth from another place, the city has also become a breeding ground for wannabe-millionaires.

“People are very encouraging of entrepreneurship,” Gluch said, pointing to many Scottsdale-based entrepreneurs in the remote self-development coaching world. “The spirit of the place is very entrepreneurial and positive.”

Carlson-Richison also believes that the Arizona cities of Gilbert and Queen Creek could be on this list soon. Both cities, especially Queen Creek, have seen an influx of millionaires move there. But for now, Scottsdale remains the only Arizona city among the 27 on Henley & Partners’ list.

Here are the five cities that have added millionaires at the highest rate since 2014.

1. Shenzhen, China
Millionaire growth: 142%
Total millionaires: 50,800
Population: 17.8 million

2. Scottsdale
Millionaire growth: 125%
Total millionaires: 14,800
Population: 244,421

3. Bengaluru, India
Millionaire growth: 120%
Total millionaires: 13,600
Population: 14 million

4. West Palm Beach, Florida
Millionaire growth: 112%
Total millionaires: 11,500
Population: 124,148

5. Hangzhou, China
Millionaire growth: 108%
Total millionaires: 32,200
Population: 12.5 million