New research finds that millionaire ranks grew strongly in 2015
There were more than 133,000 millionaire households in the Greater Boston area through the middle of 2015, up 3.1 percent from the same period in 2014. Millionaire households now account for 7.2 percent of all households in the area.
Those findings came from an annual report from Phoenix, an analytics firm that provides data to wealth managers and investment groups. A “millionaire” household is one with more than $1 million in investable assets, such as stocks, bonds and savings, although real estate and retirement funds are excluded in Phoenix’s analysis.
A Nationwide Growth in Millionaires
Chicagoland was not alone in the millionaire growth it saw last year. According to Phoenix, the U.S. added 6.5 million millionaire households in 2015; that translates to a growth rate of 4 percent, which is the highest since 2011. Furthermore, Phoenix counted one million U.S. households with a net worth of more than $5 million (a 5 percent increase), which is the highest ever recorded.
David Thompson, the managing director of Phoenix’s affluent practice, spoke to the report’s high numbers in The Wall Street Journal, but cautioned that 2016 may be a different story, what with the current problems in oil and the stock market.
“Growth in that market, essentially the 1 percent, has been impressive,” Thompson said. “It’s a milestone, but we’ll see what this year brings.”
Here is how Chicagoland compares with other large metro areas:
| Metro Area | 2015 Millionaire Households | Percent Change from 2014 | Millionaire Share of All Households |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 479,486 | 2.2% | 6.5% |
| Los Angeles | 246,627 | 1.9% | 5.6% |
| Chicago | 210,977 | 4.6% | 6.0% |
| Philadelphia | 146,589 | 0.7% | 6.4% |
| Boston | 133,238 | 3.1% | 7.2% |
| San Francisco | 128,130 | 3.4% | 7.4% |
| Houston | 127,793 | 5.4% | 5.7% |
| Miami | 110,691 | 7.3% | 5.0% |
| Atlanta | 107,739 | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Seattle | 92,786 | 3.9% | 6.4% |