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<\/p>\nIt\u2019s hundreds of miles from the AI boom and tech billionaire class of Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n
It maintains an image, at least in some minds, as a beachside mecca for old money, big yachts and conspicuous consumption.<\/p>\n
And now, a new Times analysis of the highest home values in California shows Newport Beach perched at the top. Among California\u2019s most upscale neighborhoods, a subtle reshuffling has taken place in recent decades, with the highest home values migrating from Northern California to Southern California.<\/p>\n
A Times analysis for 2026 shows three of the top 10 zip codes for highest home value were on Newport Beach. Only one other community showed up twice on the list: Los Altos in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n
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Attendees toured the showcased pleasure yacht Aviator, with its opulent salon, during the Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival.<\/p>\n
(Susan Hoffman)<\/p>\n
Shift from north to south<\/p>\n
Property values are just one way of assessing wealth and do not take into account such markers as income and tax base. But they do offer a window into the demographic patterns of the rich.<\/p>\n
In 2001, seven of the 10 zip codes with the highest home prices were in Northern California: Atherton, Portola Valley, two in Los Altos, Ross, Palo Alto and Tiburon. Three were in Southern California: Rancho Santa Fe, Newport Beach and Montecito, per Zillow data<\/a>.<\/p>\n By 2026, the dynamic had flipped. Seven of the state\u2019s 10 richest zip codes are now in Southern California, and three are within Newport Beach \u2014 up from just one in 2001. Beverly Hills and Santa Monica zip codes also joined the list, replacing Portola Valley, Ross, Palo Alto and Tiburon.<\/p>\n The annual Lighting of the Bay outside Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach.<\/p>\n (Newport Dunes)<\/p>\n Newport Beach\u2019s advantages<\/p>\n Newport Beach gained several spots on the list partly due to the migration of well-heeled home buyers and the appreciation of existing properties. <\/p>\n Fleeing Angelenos \u2014 whether running from COVID-era masking policies and school shutdowns or the flames that devoured Pacific Palisades \u2014 have contributed to Newport\u2019s ascension, according to Annie Clougherty, a real estate agent who grew up in Newport Beach and works there now.<\/p>\n \u201cWe look like a deal compared to L.A. real estate,\u201d she said. \u201cWe used to just compete for buyers in Orange County, and L.A. has definitely pushed that,\u201d bringing prices up.<\/p>\n In the most selective of Newport Beach\u2019s zip codes, the priciest houses have docks along the ocean or Newport Bay, but only a select few have room for a 70- to 100-foot boat, Clougherty explained. \u201cWe\u2019re not making more water.\u201d<\/p>\n Many new buyers found Newport Beach attractive because of its similarity to Pacific Palisades: a tight-knit community with the beach nearby. \u201cMany L.A. areas don\u2019t have great schools and so that\u2019s a huge draw,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cSo many of these huge sales came from people relocating from Los Angeles either after the fires or after COVID,\u201d Clougherty said, and many who left Los Angeles for Newport often preferred the area\u2019s more conservative politics.<\/p>\n Newport Beach Mayor Lauren Kleiman pointed to her city\u2019s location on the water, safe neighborhoods and quality schools as major factors driving housing prices up.<\/p>\n Since the pandemic, \u201cwe are seeing even more people gravitating towards Newport,\u201d she said. Indeed, Newport\u2019s wealthiest zip codes have shot up the list since 2019, when its highest-valued area ranked 8th in the state. <\/p>\n With the Palisades fire forcing many affluent Angelenos to look for a new place to live, demand has increased again, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line is: We only have so many homes here, and people want to be here, whether it\u2019s to live and raise a family or to visit,\u201d Kleiman said. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty special place.\u201d<\/p>\n The John Wayne memorial statue at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.<\/p>\n (Gary Coronado \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Shedding \u2018John Wayne\u2019 image<\/p>\n Newport Beach has long been a playground for Hollywood and L.A.\u2019s elites.<\/p>\n \u201cHumphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall kept a boat in Newport Harbor. Jane Russell and Gloria Swanson hung out at the Balboa Bay Club. Joey Bishop, the last surviving member of the Rat Pack, still lives on Lido Isle. And, of course, Orange County\u2019s favorite cowboy, John Wayne, called Newport Beach home for 15 years,\u201d The Times reported in 2006. <\/a> <\/p>\n But it was Wayne who came to dominate the celebrity scene. He surfed there in the 1920s, kept a massive boat in the harbor and lived in a compound on Bayshore Drive.<\/p>\n The longtime clubhouse for the Newport elite was the Balboa Bay Club<\/a>, where Wayne, Bogart, the Reagans and many other bold-face names were members.<\/p>\n Wayne died in 1979 (the airport just north of the city is named for him). And over the years, Newport Beach\u2019s scene has modernized. It\u2019s now home to such business powerhouses as PIMCO, Pacific Life and the Irvine Co.<\/p>\n Where Newport was once an old-money town, \u201cthe face of the city has changed quite a bit,\u201d Kleiman said, with more newcomers buying homes in recent decades.<\/p>\n But she also pointed to empty nesters in Newport Beach who might typically downsize but cannot find cheaper homes within Newport Beach and instead choose to stay put. \u201cYou\u2019re just seeing a lot less movement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs much as Newport might be the tip of the spear when you\u2019re talking about valuation, these economic factors are not specific to us,\u201d Kleiman said. If people can afford to, \u201cthey\u2019re going to pay the price because it\u2019s harder and harder to find the lifestyle, the quality of life you can attain.\u201d<\/p>\n The 92657 zip code, Newport\u2019s most luxurious, covers the Newport Coast area. The median home value there was $5.42 million as of Jan. 31, according to Zillow data reviewed by The Times.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773310688_44_.jpeg\")
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