L.A. Area's Wealth Migrating Away From Outlying Communities.

How and where is wealth migrating in Los Angeles?

An analysis by the Business Journal of all 270 Zip codes in the county shows that wealth over the past decade has been shifting into more centrally located areas of the Westside -- like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades.

Meanwhile, many of the outlying communities such as Rancho Palos Verdes, San Marino and Calabasas have been posting a lower rate of income growth, according to U.S. Census data and projections provided by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. (For a complete list of how all the county's Zip codes stack up, see page 32.)

"A lot of times, people find they don't like to travel that much to find the amenities they like. They get tired of spending their lives on the freeway. They're sort of coming to rediscover the charm of old neighborhoods," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the LAEDC.

The Zip codes with the highest median household incomes offer no surprises -- No. 1 is Bel-Air, followed by Beverly Hills. Some of the other cities in the top 10, San Marino and Calabasas, have been there before as well. But like some other communities farther away from Los Angeles proper, the rate of income growth in these suburban cities over the past 10 years has been slower than income growth in wealthy communities closer to L.A proper.

Some of the biggest income gains came in Zip codes for communities within the city of Los Angeles.

The 90067 area of Los Angeles, a pocket of Westwood that abuts the Los Angeles Country Club, saw its median household income soar by a whopping 54.7 percent over the past decade, to $109,779.

Santa Monica's 90402, a posh coastal community flanked by Sunset Boulevard and Montana Avenue, jumped 47.9 percent to $109,933.

Meanwhile, Rancho Palos Verdes' 90275 rose only 18.8 percent, or less than 2 percent a year. Farther-out areas also saw anemic income growth. Valencia's 91354 is the 27th wealthiest Zip code, placing it in the top 10 percent of the county total, yet its median household income rose only 19.3 percent over the past decade.

"People with a lot of money don't move out here. It's a little too suburban, not sophisticated," said Valencia Realtor Marjorie Burrows, adding that she sells more homes in the San Fernando Valley than in Valencia.

"The commute is a deterrent," she said. It takes about 30 minutes to drive from Valencia to Sherman Oaks, even when there is little traffic. Despite rising home prices, the San Fernando Valley continues to be a better value than the Westside, said Matthew May, president of May Realty Advisors in Los Angeles. But the Valley may not have the same appeal as the Westside and that could be the reason that Valley income gains were not as strong over the past decade.

"The Valley has always been the poor stepsister to the Westside," May said. "People from the Valley will come over to the Westside, but people from the Westside won't come to the Valley."

Lagging behind

Kyser said that outlying communities such as Rancho Palos Verdes and Stevenson Ranch were detached from the '90s boom in technology, so didn't benefit as much in income gains. He also said that they are newer communities, so they had to start from farther back.

"They have to catch up," he said.

Rancho Palos Verdes fell from eighth place in 1989 to 12th on the list today.

Though it appears to have seen a greater increase in income than the South Bay peninsula, La Canada Flintridge fell one slot down from the position it held in 1989 as the 10th wealthiest area in the county.

Though income may be growing more quickly in some areas than others, the county's richest communities as a whole are unlikely to lose their affluent status any time soon.

"Economy, geography, a whole variety of things point to the fact that they will stay (high)," Kyser said. "Once you get this status as a high-income area, it's very hard to fall out."

Realtor May made the point more bluntly.

"Everybody with money lives with people with money, so they don't have to worry about people without money coming in," he said.

                          Wealthiest Enclaves
                        2000 incomes and percent
                           rises over decade.
Bel-Air            +25.3%
Beverty Hills      +39.3%
San Marino         +24.4%
Pacific Palisades  +35.5%
Encino             +29.9%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Note: Table made from bar graph