These Cities Have Minted The Most Real-Estate Millionaires

Since 2001, cities across the US have endured a property boom that has minted hundreds of millionaires who simply bought a home in a hot emerging neighborhood at the right time, then sat on it. To be sure, most people view their homes as a place to live – not as an investment. But in cities like San Francisco and New York City – where turn-of-the-century gentrification booms sent property values soaring – dozens of homeowners became millionaires thanks solely to the appreciation on their property, according to Property Shark.

Property Shark’s analysis showcases the top 25 cities for homeowners to become millionaires just by buying a home sometime before 2001 for less than $1 million, and then selling it after 2001 for $1 million or more.

The city in first place is – unsurprisingly – San Francisco, which minted 381 million real-estate millionaires, more than Manhattan’s 335 million despite being half Manhattan’s size.

Key Takeaways:

• After 2001, 381 people became millionaires just by selling their homes in San Francisco
• Although home to twice the population of SF, Manhattan came in second, adding 335 millionaires
• It’s almost a tie between L.A. (280) and Brooklyn (281), with Brooklyn squeezing in an extra millionaire
• Silicon Valley cities in our list added a total of 332 millionaires
• 4 small cities on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., added 461 millionaires since ’01

All told, seven of the top 25 “millionaire” cities were situated in Silicon Valley, with San Jose, Redwood City and San Mateo ranking high on the list, which is available in full below: