So what are people driving in America’s wealthiest Zip codes like 10274, Lower Manhattan, where the average annual income stands at $5.7 million? Must be all Bentley daily drivers with a few Aventadors for weekend fun, right? Wrong, says TrueCar, as it publishes the list of the top vehicles purchased in the wealthiest zip codes. Well, you are kind of right: There isn’t a single domestic vehicle amongst the top ten.
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Most Popular Cars Sold in America’s Wealthiest Zip Codes |
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|
Rank |
Make/Model | Segment |
MSRP* |
Market Average** |
% Discount from MSRP† |
|
1 |
Mercedes-Benz E-Class | Luxury Car |
$51,365 |
$48,068 |
6.4% |
|
2 |
BMW 328 | Luxury Car |
$35,795 |
$34,461 |
3.7% |
|
3 |
Mercedes-Benz C-Class | Luxury Car |
$36,095 |
$34,144 |
5.4% |
|
4 |
Lexus RX | Luxury SUV |
$39,950 |
$37,628 |
5.8% |
|
5 |
Toyota Prius | Small Car |
$30,565 |
$29,525 |
3.4% |
|
6 |
Volkswagen Jetta | Small Car |
$26,085 |
$24,978 |
4.2% |
|
7 |
Honda CR-V | Midsize SUV |
$29,575 |
$28,875 |
2.4% |
|
8 |
Honda Accord | Midsize Car |
$23,070 |
$21,210 |
8.1% |
|
9 |
Toyota Camry | Midsize Car |
$25,535 |
$23,871 |
6.5% |
|
10 |
BMW X5 | Luxury SUV |
$58,595 |
$54,995 |
6.1% |
| Wealthiest Zips data based on IRS Tax table, filtered for zip codes with a thousand returns or more. | |||||
Key findings:
- The Toyota Prius was the most popular vehicle in Ross (94957) and Century City (90067), Calif.
- The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was the most expensive model purchased in top ten wealthiest Zip codes
- Manhattan represents the city with the wealthiest zip code (10274) and the most popular vehicle purchased was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class while the Honda CR-V rounds out the top five
- SUV’s are popular in Greenwich, Conn. (06831) with four out of the top five
- The Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey are the only two minivans to make the top five purchased by residents in Medina, Wash.(98039)
Says Kristen Andersson, Senior Analyst at TrueCar.com. “For affluent buyers who live in places where environmental concerns reign supreme, the Toyota Prius is the ultimate status symbol in eco-luxury.”
For every 5 Prii they buy I’m sure someone purchases at least one Bentley or Aventador.
…Or at least one buys a Ferrari 458 like that idiot who the cop arrested for nearly running over his foot.
I’m not surprised to see the E-class on top because I read this same data in Forbes 3 months ago. The E-class is everything my S-class is, minus the size and gas guzzling V8. A great play by MB, but they coulda made the steering a little better on center.
I live in NYC and I’m surprised the ML350 isn’t here. The ML is like the official car of the rich housewife.
New Yorker here; my bosse’s wife drives the RX.
The rich didn’t get that way by blowing it on cars. /shrug
Exactly.
Alternatively, cars aren’t a big part of their life. Particularly if you live in NYC, a lot of cars are kind of pointless. If you have a driver, you can be driven around in a nice 5 series.
If you’re too busy to drive a lot, why bother owning an exotic car?
A fair number of the wealthy in New York City have a place in either upstate New York or at the Hamptons. They would need a car for those areas.
Another reason is that the rich don’t necessarily want to be seen as too filthy rich. It distances themselves from their employees and acquaintances, and at times makes them targets of negative rumour as well as more nefarious events.
The rich know they are rich, and they know people around them know that as well. The richest person I know, who is valued in the hundreds of millions, drives a Ford Fusion Hybrid (though his daughter drives a S-class). The rich do buy expensive & exotic cars, obviously there is a market for it, but sometimes its better to present yourself in T-shirt and jeans (or a Fusion or a Prius) rather than walk around in a tuxedo, top hat, and a monocle(and drive a Giallo Orion Pearl Effect coloured Aventador ).
…but they got that way by blowing it on pricey real estate?
(Something I realized after my first post.)
Real estate appreciates; cars depreciate.
Nothing says I care like pulling up to your palatial untouched 19th century mansion with your pruisite. I’d love to have that conversation.
It cracks me up when people are ashamed of thier wealth in some fashion or another.
Who says they’re ashamed of it?
I know quite a few self made wealthy people, and by wealthy, I mean people with a net worth >$10 million. Most of these people are extremely cheap. Most don’t really care what you think about their car, and few are slaves to fashion. How do you think they got to be so rich?
An old friend’s father was the CEO of a rather large, nearby company, and his uncle the CEO of a MUCH LARGER, national company that owns his father’s company. His dad is the cheapest man I’ve ever met – when it was time to buy a new car, he picked up a Tacoma with steelies. This man is worth at least $30 mil and owns two really nice, $500k+ houses (although the second is probably worth closer to a mil, which around here, buys one heck of a house) and he drives a vehicle that’s worth less than $20k. And before that he had a 2005 Bonneville for 6 years.
Anyway, you can get a REALLY decently equipped car if you max out a Prius… if you can stand the way it looks, anyway.
Who said they’re ashamed of anything? I know a banker who owns s multimillion dollar home but when they asked me about what car I drive they sincerely complimented me on owning a Camry. And it wasn’t a joke-his parents drive the same 5th generation Camry as me (2002-2004 model years), though they did spring for the V6 LE. The guy himself pretty much avoided buying a car since he had no real need for a car until recently (lived within walking distance of work…the supermarket is downstairs, etc.), and even then he only bought a Lexus LS 460. I know other people who spend a crapload of money on an annual country club membership but they still only own a 10 year old S class and a somewhat newer but also long term LS. Not everyone runs out and spends all their expendable income on a car-some people just don’t find blowing tons of money on cars to be a particularly good use of their money.
I also know less wealthy people (though still well off obviously) who own pricey Porsches, etc. while living in much more modest homes. Some people just aren’t car enthusiasts-they might own a watch worth more than their car and it has nothing to do with being ashamed of being wealthy-they just don’t find a need to have a really over the top car and the only reason they usually buy a car is for occasional road trips with the family somewhere. That kind of use does not require them to go buy a rolls, and it probably hurts that kind of use more than anything since you don’t really wanna drive cross country in that kind of car (reliability aside, some areas are pretty shitty places to park a rolls).
The Camry is on that list because it’s precisely the kind of car you’d use for a road trip with the family regardless of whether you make 40K a year or $4 mill a year.
@raph: “It cracks me up when people are ashamed of thier wealth in some fashion or another.”
The Prius is a good value, and a comfortable AtoB car. Why would a rich person want to waste money on gasoline+repairs any more than the average rank-and-file cubicle worker?
The Prius is a relatively comfortable car, and comfort is the only aspect of luxury that matters to a lot of people. Many people (of all incomes) have much bigger things on their mind than bling.
There is a big difference between being ashamed and showing restrain. Kind of like the difference between landed gentry and pro athletes, one has been able to hold on to “his” wealth for generations and centuries, the other is broke 5 years after he quits shooting hoops, ruining or slapping a puck around. Or if you’re a boat guy, some buys a Hinckley , some buys a Cigarette, some maintain a boat for generations, some likes 28 speakers and gelcoat in more colors than the average Crayon set.
I think this list is accurate. Perhaps a little different in the Canadian market but not too much.
I wouldnt be surprised to see the following vehicles also make it up on the list. This is judging by my own observations in the Lower Mainland (Richmond, South Surrey, Vancouver)….
– Ford Explorer Limited
– Ford F150 Platinum
– BMW X3
– Lexus CT200h
– Toyota Camry Hybrid
– Porsche Cayenne
+1 on the Cayenne, but the rest? No. The number 1 show of wealth in Vancouver has to be a pearl white Mercedes G, GL, GLK or M class SUV. Anyone with money caught driving a domestic would be shunned at their local golf club.
I agree with you on the MB ML/GLK/GL…. especially in Richmond and West Vancouver…
however, there is alot of wealth South of the Fraser and the choices in vehicles do differ…
I also missed the Acura MDX on my list…
take a drive through certain areas of Abbotsford, Langley, or Surrey where there is significant Agricultural, Trucking, or Real Estate generated wealth, and I do think my originally proposed list stands…
– High-end variants of the F150 and F250 (Limited, Platinum, King Ranch) reign supreme
On a side note, Cadillac is dropping the ball with the Escalade. I dont know how sales are doing but, to leave the same design unchanged (even the ORIGINAL bumpers from the model intro) is ridiculous. Buyers do not want to touch a 2012 Escalade when they know the 2007 is identical and costs 70% less. They could have done some very catching headlight re-designs, bumper restylings, or introduced some additional variants (i.e. LSA powered units)
At the very least (and where I give BMW-Audi credit) is that they update headlight clusters & bumpers often to ensure buyers of the new vehicles are differentiated from the used models of the same generation.
Good point on the Escalade, as I’ll wager that the number one reason people with wealth to flaunt change their vehicle so often is to show that they’ve got ‘the latest model’. If you can’t tell the difference between a brand new Escalade and a 5 year old one, why bother stumping up the money?
I’ll guess that have GM cheaped out and that they are waiting for the new line of pickups to go into production before they show us the new Escalade.
Yup, Mercedes all the way. Nothing says “you’ve arrived” like a Mercedes SUV. It’s the textbook status symbol for the image conscious—Cayennes too. All highly unoriginal choices, but it’s not about expressing individuality, it’s about keeping up appearances.
RE: “On a side note, Cadillac is dropping the ball with the Escalade. I dont know how sales are doing but, to leave the same design unchanged (even the ORIGINAL bumpers from the model intro) is ridiculous. Buyers do not want to touch a 2012 Escalade when they know the 2007 is identical and costs 70% less. They could have done some very catching headlight re-designs, bumper restylings, or introduced some additional variants (i.e. LSA powered units)”
Well, that didn’t do crap for Lincoln Navigator sales. Maybe Cadillac’s following the “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach. Not that I’m saying your point is not valid, just making a comparison.
In Richmond, C-class/E-class/3-series are disproportionate in representation.
There’s a large pile of C63s driving around in Richmond
Adding the Audi Q7 to that list would also work well
Richmond aka Ditchmond BC, probably the highest density of expensive cars within that few square miles.
If u go into any of the Chinese malls along #3 rd., u can find a few prancing horses ( either from Italy or Germany), Lambos, Tridents, Mercs too.
Detached houses started just little below a mil.
Sadly I’m on the opposite side of the spectrum, my merc is only 30 yrs old, if it were 60 yrs old it would worth a few more coins.
anecdotally speaking,
The CRV is flying off the shelves. I have never seen a new vehicle launch and then saturate the market so quickly. It seems to sell especially well in more affluent areas as well across all demographics, ethnicities, and family types.
Great looking vehicle.
My wife just bought one two weeks ago and had a heluva time finding one in her specified color: white. According to several dealer friends of mine they are literally flying off of the shelves.
Honda really nailed the aesthetic and packaging of the car: it’s roomy, comfortable, quiet, gets good mileage in all-wheel-drive guise and includes some nice standard features (bluetooth, backup camera, iPhone/iPod sync, etc.) that appeal to my wife, a self-professed “plain Jane schoolteacher”.
The pricing was excellent and knocked the other contenders (Forrester and VW Tiguan) flat on their faces when compared side by side. I’m a Volkswagen fan but the new CRV is a fantastic package.
“…they are literally flying off the shelves”
Two questions
1) Why do your local dealers keep cars on shelves?
2) I call BS on these cars flying. It is possible for them to FALL off the shelf if it’s high enough though.
In Brazil the CRV is outsold only by the Ford EcoSport and the Renault Duster in its class – and both cost something close to 60% of what they charge for a CRV down here.
And I do see the point, is a pretty nice package. Not great in any aspect, but an all around solid player nonetheless.
I see new CR-V’s all over the place in Green Bay, WI. It’s a shame, too, the styling is too…. ugh.
Lower Manhattan? I’ve been there. A Prius makes perfect sense, unless you actually need something bigger. Even the wealthy can figure out that idling engines are a pointless waste.
And let’s remember, there’s a distinction between “wealthiest zip codes” and “wealthiest people.” There’s a wide income distribution even in Lower Manhattan. Not everybody there has a 7-figure income.
I also wonder how may of those Camrys and RX’s are hybrids.
I live here. Bloomberg has DECLARED WAR ON CARS silently. They’ve made it impossible to park a car without getting a ticket. Just look at that guy they busted with the Ferrari 458. You could be the richest man in the world, but if you try living here with a nice car – say a Bugatti…you’ll need someone working for you to maintain it and park it. There are rich guys who park RR Ghosts in the building next door and sometimes they get scratched due to the close proximity of everything.
Yep, he’s definitely proven himself to be the best liberal Democrat that Republicans ever elected….8-/
My parents live in Greenwich, CT, and my mom drives an Audi Q7 TDI, which is a perfect car for the area. Diesel is (slightly) cheaper than regular gas in CT, and the way she drives, she only needs to fill up every 2 weeks. It’s sporty enough to be a bit of fun on Greenwich’s windy backroads, and the adaptive air suspension handles the pothole-riddled main arteries and I-95 quite well, despite the 20″ S-line wheels. It’s great in the snow and rain, and luxurious without being too obnoxious. And the air suspension can lower itself to “loading” height when parked, so her 66-year old back doesn’t have to lift heavy objects as high when loading into the trunk. Good car.
I wonder how they’re getting the “locale” of the purchase.
I’m guessing that many of the big dog cars have purchase orders originating from the Bahamas or the Caymans. That’s where the money’s sitting at. My cousin deals with guys with 9-figure portfolios and it’s absolutely mind-boggling the hoops they jump through just to shave a few percent off of taxes.
Same with the thing with the minivans in Medina, WA. It’s probably purchased for the nanny under the actual resident’s name to write off as a childcare expense. When a 1000 sq ft house there is something like $1.5 mil, you’re not going to be driving something pedestrian.
I was wondering the same thing – is this based on the dealer sales numbers or the reported sales to people living in the zip code? I’m not aware of a Chevy dealer in Lower Manhattan.
Besides, most people in the city who are that affluent have at least one other residence as you said, and probably buy the car in that county since taxes and everything else is lower. When I bought my car on long island, they gave me Westchester sales tax since it’s almost 1% lower than Nassau.
At the garage where I park, it’s $600 a month for a normal car, and $1000 a month for an exotic car. I’m sure they keep the Ferrari at the summer home unless they’re really rolling in it.
The populations of most of the ZIP codes above are only about 3000-4000 people.
The difference in the actual number of sales between the #1 car and 30th or 40th place is probably minimal.
Good point. I was wondering that myself when I saw Century City on the list. Plenty of high end attorneys and finance guys have their offices there but I have never heard of anyone actualy living there.
Considering the highest average income is very misleading. The average can be affected by one or two people with extremely high incomes. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates both live in Medina, pop. ~3000. I think that skews the average in an otherwise ordinary place, and that’s what makes this list so pedestrian.
Show me the most popular cars in locales with the highest *median* income and I’m sold.
No.
You can’t be faulted for your assumption, but…no.
Medina is far, far, from an “otherwise ordinary place.” There are no cheap houses in Medina. The assessor’s list reads like a Who’s Who of old tech (read: obscenely rich.)
Buying up a few contiguous properties of other rich people at any price in Medina and plunking down a McEstate is the first thing one does, nay, is expected to do, once proffered the magic stock options.
+1
The Clyde Hill Tully’s is the only place I have regularly seen Ferrari’s, Porsche’s, and Maserati’s all parked out front at the same time. It’s the last pitstop before the 1%’er bridge.
Hello, thatguy…
Between your observation and that of Kixstart above, this survey needs to be redone:
1) Do not use locales; use people and their actual income (avoids wide income distribution even in “rich” neighborhoods);
2) Do not use average: use median, as you suggest (avoids the billionaire averaged in with the pauper syndrome.)
3) Record ALL cars owned per individual or per family.
Then you will start to see some Bentleys and Ferraris (et. al.) mixed in with shopping runabouts.
—————
I’d be curious what’s on the list for 75205 Highland Park, TX. I would expect something from the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban GMC Yukon Cadillac Escalade full size SUV family to get on the list. Big SUVs seem to be more popular than minivans. I would also expect entry level luxury cars from Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura to displace the equivalent Toyota, Nissan, and Honda cars.
Is that Emily Blunt getting out of a Prius on dubs? It’s a good thing she’s distracting enough.
I guess it depends what frame you use.
1)I can’t imagine most of the ppl in 10274 actually have cars. It would be finance guys who ‘need’ to live ~300 feet from their jobs.
2)I could’ve sworn your NY wealth target was going to be Tribeca or [the minimum $50M net-worth entrance req. building, iirc] 550 Park Avenue, not downtown.
3)Greenwich would probably be more representative of a ‘normal’ residential frame than car-hating NYC.
4)Many NYers will have a house (or 5) in another state, sometimes CT, and reg the car out of there to avoid certain NYS hoops. A friend of mine did just that.
5)@thatguy: Agreed. Happens around me, too. A few towns over, a handful of guys raise the avg. for the whole area.
I live on the Stamford-Greenwich Conn. border and do see a lot of big SUV’s. Tahoes, pilots, lexus lxs and Acadias seem to be the most popular. The GMC dealer who sold our Acadia said the Denalis are a hot item and they could barely keep any in stock. What is surprising is how different buyer preferences in Greenwich are from their rich counterparts in Calif. Gas is just as expensive if not more, most residents are progressive and environmentally aware, have similar income levels and family sizes. The only difference being shorter commutes and no carpool lane access for Hybrids in Conn. Which makes me think that the rich are not buying hybrids by choice. A large number of people in Greenwich work in NYC and take the train to work. This could also be the reason they don’t owning a big SUV for running errands.
While generating class envy is popular, a more significant national issue is spending money beyond one’s means.
I recently saw a Lamborghini (!) in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, not to mention plenty of M-Bs and Escalades.
But more on point, there are plenty of us ‘middle class’ folks driving cars we can’t afford – pimped $45k Siennas taking the daughters to expensive dance lessons after visiting Starbucks, then going home to watch $150/month cable TV on a 70″ HDTV.
People wonder why they can’t make ends meet on two incomes, yet rarely consider their spending choices. It’s easier to blame the ‘rich guy’ (if you’re a Lefty), or the government (if you’re a Righty), than it is to look in the mirror
This is so true it hurts. But feel confident that it isn’t limited to the US, we have it here in Europe as well. The best innovation ever for sales people are probably spreading the cost across payments that lasts years after you’re dead and buried.
this is totally bogus from an nyc perspective. nobody and i mean nobody lives in 10274. most of the super rich declare their primary residence to be connecticut to save taxes but even the ones that file returns from manhattan don’t live at the tip of the island south of wall street.
if you are in that category, you have a driver for the city and your cars are at your weekend house which you may commute to by helicopter. if you do keep something in the city, it tends to be either a german sedan or an suv. the supercars are owned by 30 something single males banksters.
if you want to do a real assessment of the nyc super rich try 10013 or 10021.
i will say that they don’t tend to drive american but the escalade is one of their favorite vehicles to be driven in….
Doing this by zip code is pretty tricky, for the reasons stated. I think the only safe conclusion, which can be made just by driving around the wealthier parts of the DC suburbs, or Atherton or Fairfield County, Conn. or where ever, is that “Detroit Iron” is not fashionable in the wealthy coastal cities (other than some restored vintage muscle car from the 60s that’s taken out on a Sunday afternoon).
It’s really sad that a big piece of the market seems to have been permanently lost to “Detroit.”
How many millionaires use their company provided car as their beater?
“Wealthiest Zips data based on IRS Tax table, filtered for zip codes with a thousand returns or more”
1000 Tax Returns. That alone keeps so many Zip codes filled with rich people out of this. Alpine NJ. Very rich, yet tax returns might be out of other homes/states. Also a lot of extended visa / overseas people in North Jersey. They are rarely seen in an American vehicle.
BTW a lot of Rich NYC do not drive their own cars (If any) in the city. They get lot’s rental cars and black cab services. They might own a Jeep Wagoneer they keep it on Martha’s Vineyard / Nantucket Island.
As a car driving resident of one of the manhattan neighborhoods mentioned above, i want to give a Better idea of the situation here. Anybody with the means does not pay NYC taxes, register their car here, or reside full time. I keep my car in a garage a block away, it costs as much as rent in outer borough neighborhoods. It is profoundly more expensive to have and use a car here than anywhere else. There is but 2 gas stations in lower manhattan, if that gives a picture of how much of an “escape pod” mentality people have towards their cars here. That being said, my garage is at least half Range Rovers, with a smattering of GL450s, G63s, Q7s, Es, 911s, and a small stock of zip cars. Weekends I’ve stayed in the city, the garage is empty except for the zip cars. Cars here tend to be an accessory to your first home purchase elsewhere, be it Jersey, Connecticut, or the Hamptons. I would imagine that this is probably the case in a lot of these wealthy areas.
“Says Kristen Andersson, Senior Analyst at TrueCar.com. “For affluent buyers who live in places where environmental concerns reign supreme, the Toyota Prius is the ultimate status symbol in eco-luxury.” ”
It would seem reasonable that EVs would take off best in such areas. I wonder if that is a trend.
I own homes in 7 figure zip codes on both coasts. And, this list looks a lot like what I see. However, my observations: High end west coast zips seems a little more high end european while high end east coast seems a little more Toyota and Honda, with a some Acura and Lexus. Some Audi on both coasts … bot no Audi on list. Secondly, on both coasts the few Detroit products are usually rentals or company cars with one exception … lots of Suburban and Tahoe in wealthy areas on both coasts. Finally, the Highlander and Pilot are very popular in wealthy east coast zips … thought they would be on the list.
Many of the “nicest-wealthiest” neighborhoods in and around Houston, TX have high-end (current generation )F-150s and Suburbans / Yukons in the driveways. We’re a truck city.
Fun with stats!
I would be interested in the reverse statistics, or others…
What are the top selling new vehicles in the poorest zip codes? More domestics, or have the Koreans taken over that slice?
What about the zip codes with the highest crime rates? Do Escalades break the top 10?
Has the shrunken middle class impacted the market potential of the domestic manufacturers even more?
A few anecdotes to offer. Many years ago I had the opportunity to work in service to Katharine Hepburn for a week. This was the late ’70s; I distinctly remember her blue metallic ’73 Olds Cutlass wagon. Vinyl seats, roll up windows, no wood. She drove all over the place in that thing. Apparently in the mid-late ’80s she traded it in for a blue metallic Olds Ciera wagon, similar set-up.
A couple of years ago we were vacationing in the Hamptons (friend of a friend!), and my wife and her ostentatious mother wondered where all the money was in the village centers. I had to point out the faded red Land Cruisers and decades-old Benz wagons, even a few Grand Wagoneers still around. The flashy stuff is almost always driven by new money, and probably leased.
Surprised about the CR-V…it has been quickly climbing up my wish list for my new car next year….it seems to be an overall highly competent package with a minimum of fuss. Don’t know if I can afford the company it keeps now!
Old moneys don’t seem to be interested in fancy cars. I guess they’ve become jaded, it’s no big deal for them. It’s the nouveau riches that adore fancy cars. Rap singers, sports stars, internet enterpreneurs…
There are other issues are well here. If you live in a suburb and commute, nothing beats access to HOV lanes if you have a Prius or other hybrid. In NYC, it is a waste to own a nice car as others have mentioned. You can’t go anywhere in it, the roads are horrible, and it will probably be dinged my a cab. You want an exotic or classic? You walk down to Manhattan Motor Club or any one of a number of Dream Car companies and they will let you rent whatever you want that weekend of fun. Out in the Hamptons is older cars and SUVs to get by those flooded roads being so close to the water. Lots of older luxury models as well.