According to a study by GoBankingRates — the study employs 2022 and 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Zillow — the once tried-and-true belief that suburbia was an escape from the high costs of gentrifying cities is no longer entirely true. The income required to live in the most expensive suburbs in America begins at an annual household income of $261,248 before rising to a high of $601,193. This is a household income above the number required to be considered in the top 10% of income earners in America, and indicative of how much you would need to earn to even consider living in one of these suburbs.
According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, after an increase in amenities in suburban areas between 2011 and 2021, Millennials began leaving cities based on shifting priorities — expanding households requiring more space — and affordability. So there are still plenty of suburbs where you shouldn’t spend too much of your income on rent or purchasing a home. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the average purchase price of a home in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2025 was $512,800, while the Mortgage Bankers Association places the national median mortgage in June 2025 at $2,172 per month. As per Apartments.com, the national average rent as of July 2025, is $1,637 per month.
Cerritos, California
Your first indication that this first location is pricey is that this little known Los Angeles suburb is home to one of America’s most expensive retirement communities. It doesn’t get better if you’re pre-retirement age according to Zillow, with the average value of a home in Cerritos at $1,054,271. That’s just over twice the national average. As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average household expenditure on groceries was $6,053 per year, or around $504.42 per month. According to Payscale, Cerritos’ cost of living is 71% higher than the national average, reflected in grocery prices 9% higher than the national average. Utilities follow the same pattern at seven percent higher than the U.S. average, with transportation costs coming in 37% higher than the U.S. average.
The average rent at $4,525 per month is also a barrier for anyone earning an average middle-class income, especially when considering the national average of $1,637 per month. As per the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average monthly mortgage payment in Cerritos for a home with the median value of $924,538, slightly lower than the average value, is $5,441. The median is a calculation based on specific numbers consisting of an equal amount of lower and higher values, divided by a corresponding set of numbers, while the average adds up the total of all amounts and divides them by the corresponding set of numbers. Either still gives you an idea of what to expect in terms of monthly mortgage.
Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly, New Jersey, as per the New York Times, is a suburb preferred by Manhattan’s moneyed classes looking for a taste of city life in a suburban setting. Its proximity to the George Washington Bridge makes it a perfect getaway for people fed up with the hustle and bustle of New York City, but who also want the convenience of getting into the city when they feel like it. The 2009 New York Times article sets the average cost of a single-family home in Tenafly at $873,973. In 2025, as per the GoBankingRates study, the average cost of the same home is now $1,277,783. That’s up by 3.9% from 2024, when the average home price wasn’t much lower at $1,229,706…