America’s five richest neighborhoods

 Much like the rest of the country, America’s richest neighborhoods continue to evolve in terms of racial diversity.  In his latest Higley 1000, a list of the highest-income neighborhoods in the U.S., Stephen Higley, a professor emeritus of urban social geography at the University of Montevallo, found that the top neighborhoods are home to more Asian and Latino residents than ever before.

Higley ranked the most expensive neighborhoods in America based on American Community Survey 2006 – 2010 data. He aggregated contiguous block groups (subdivisions of Census tracts) with a mean income over $200,000. You can read his complete methodology here.

No. 5: Carderock-The Palisades in Potomac, Md.

Mean household income: $595,669

Carderock-The Palisades in Potomac, Md.

Just west of Bethesda, the Carderock neighborhood sits along the Potomac River and is best known for the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, which specializes in wartime ship design.

The area is full of adventure activities like rock climbing and water sports. It also features a professional golf course.

No. 4: Old Cutler-Hammock Oaks in Coral Gables, Fla. 

Mean household income: $596,851

Old Cutler-Hammock Oaks in Coral Gables, Fla.

Old Cutler Road, south of Miami, stretches 14.9 miles from northeast to southwest. It starts at the Coral Gables Waterway and creates scenic spaces along which large properties have been built since the road’s inception in the 1870s.

No. 3: Potomac Manors in Potomac, Md.

Mean household income: $599,331

Potomac Manors in Potomac, Md.

The small neighborhood of Potomac Manors in Potomac, Md., includes just 42 custom-built luxury homes on lots up to two acres.

The area is zoned for some of the highest ranked schools in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, including Winston Churchill High School, and is a short commute into the nation’s capital.

No. 2: Bradley Manor-Longwood in Bethesda, Md.

Mean household income: $599,440

Bradley Manor-Longwood in Bethesda, Md.

The Longwood and Bradley Manor neighborhoods of Bethesda sit northwest of Washington, D.C., just inside the Capital Beltway. Longwood in particular is known for its generous lot sizes and custom-built properties.

Both are close to McCrillis Gardens, a family-friendly public area, while Bradley Manor plays home to The Woods Academy, an independent Catholic School, and the Old Georgetown Club pool.

No. 1: The Golden Triangle in Greenwich, Conn.

Mean household income: $614,242

The Golden Triangle in Greenwich, Conn.

The Golden Triangle refers roughly to homes in the mid-country section of the city of Greenwich, Conn., which encompasses nearly two-thirds of the town’s geography.

One- and two-acre lots are most common. The remarkable amount of open space compared to the rest of Greenwich comes from preservation efforts led by the Greenwich Land Trust and other conservation organizations.

In addition to palatial estates, the area is known for various waterways, winding country roads, forests, meadows and gorges carved by past glaciers.