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Santa Clarita ranked 51st in wealth out of 420 cities with populations at or above 75,000, placing the town in the top 15 percent richest, a national business journal survey found.
The Portfolio.com study used the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey and a six-point formula to determine the relative affluence of each city.
Factors included Santa Clarita’s per capita income — $34,692 — the percent of households with income above $200,000 — which is 7.2 percent — and the threshold for the top 20 percent of household income — $144,000.
The study adjusted median home values to represent a ratio of home value per $50,000 of median household income to dampen the impact of housing bubbles. Santa Clarita’s median home value was $143,754.
Valencia real estate agent Andrew Walter said that from his point of view, Santa Clarita is “the place everybody wants to be.”
“Our citizens in this city live a better lifestyle because they’re making more income for the cost of living,” he said, noting the low home prices relative to the rest of Los Angeles County. “We have people standing in line wanting to buy homes in Santa Clarita.”
But even with the city’s new hoity-toity credentials, it isn’t all rich.
Belinda Crawford, Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry’s executive director, has people standing in line, too — but for a different reason.
The pantry provides food to about 3,000 Santa Clarita Valley residents each month. Most are children or seniors, she said.
“There are major pockets of poverty in the valley,” she said. “That’s something people don’t realize because we’re considered such a community of affluence.”
Crawford added that, “We also have a wealth of willingness to help others.”
Six California cities landed in the top 10 centers of wealth, with Newport Beach listed as the wealthiest city in America.
