There’s some big, make that BIG, living going on in this county. Maricopa County is among the top 10 wealthiest U.S. counties, a new study from a national marketing research firm says.
We ranked fourth in the number of millionaire households, right behind Orange County. Los Angeles County is first and Cook County, Ill., ranked second.
TNS Financial Services found Los Angeles has 262,800 millionaire homes. Orange County has 113,299 and we checked in with 106,210, right ahead of San Diego County. The study shows 62 percent of all millionaires in Arizona live in Maricopa County.
TNS found mean net worth (not including the primary residence) for the households is nearly $2.2 million. The median age for the head of the millionaire household is 58 years old, and almost 45 percent are retired. About 19 percent own or share ownership of a professional practice or privately held business.
The number of millionaires is on the rise. According to the survey, the number of households with more than $1 million in net worth excluding primary residences rose in 2005 for the third consecutive year.
HOOP GRUB
Amaré Stoudemire joins Dan Majerle and Alice Cooper as local celebs who have lent their names to downtown Phoenix restaurants.
The Phoenix Suns power forward has joined well-known chef Eddie Matney in opening Stoudemire’s Downtown across the street from US Airways Center. The restaurant is on the west side of the Collier Center at 3 S. Second St.
HOME TALK
A half-dozen Valley contractors will be featured on “A Homeowner’s Guide to the Builder’s Universe,” which airs 3:30 p.m. Saturday on KNXVTV (Channel 15). The 30-minute TV special is from the creators of HGTV.
The show promises to guide homeowners through a unique crash course in “builder speak.”
BOTTOMS UP
An AAA study shows the average cost of owning and operating a passenger vehicle is 52.2 cents per mile or $7,834 per year based on 15,000 miles of driving.
The study calculates the average cost of the following expenses: Maintenance, tires, insurance, license, registration, taxes, depreciation and finance.
The car club has published driving costs since 1950.
That year, 1950, driving an automobile 10,000 miles annually cost 9 cents per mile and gasoline cost 27 cents per gallon.
