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The American Dream is alive and well in these prosperous places.
The 50 richest and safest cities in the US have been unveiled in a new list — and it doesn’t look good for the Empire State.
New York did not receive any mention in the list created by GOBankingRates. The evaluation considered factors such as average household income, typical home costs, living expenses, and rates of both property and violent crimes.
However, neighboring New Jersey fared far better, snagging an impressive seven spots in the rankings.
GOBankingRates defined a “city” in their study as a residential zone with a significant number of residents. Some entries in the list are commuter towns or suburbs surrounding a major city.
Western Springs, Illinois — a suburban area within Greater Chicago — took out the title of America’s Richest and Safest City for 2025.
The affluent enclave is home to around 14,000 residents, who have a mean household income of $294,896.
The average value of a single-family home is $837,328, meaning it’s relatively affordable when factored against earnings.
Western Springs is also extremely safe, with a property crime rate of 2.657 per 1000 and a violent crime rate of just 0.076 per 10000.
Lexington, Massachusetts, snagged second place on the list, with similarly low crime rates and high household incomes.
However, the cost of living was considerably higher there, as was the average home value, which currently stands at an eye-popping $1.69 million.
Winchester, Massachusetts, located just north of Boston, rounded out the top three.
The top New Jersey “city” on the list was Ridgewood, which came in at number 11.
The Bergen County commuter town is incredibly wealthy, with a mean household income of $288,861 and an average home value of $1.18 million.
It also fares well for safety, with a property crime rate of 6.252 per 1000 and a violent crime rate of 0.379 per 1000.
The list included six other cities from the Garden State: Westfield ranked 13th, Madison 21st, Haddonfield 22nd, Glen Ridge 23rd, Summit 31st, and Metuchen 50th.
