Obama tax plan: Which cities would it hit hardest?

The nation’s second richest area is the nation’s capital and its suburbs. The Washington metro area – including northern Virginia and southern Maryland – is filled with lawyers, lobbyists and men and women with advanced degrees. According to Brookings, 24 percent of households reported income of at least $100,000.

In terms of raw numbers, the Washington area's 600,945 rich households comes second only to the New York Metro area, though New York – despite its nearly 1.4 million households making more than $100,000 – comes in 14th by percentage of filers.

3. Connecticut suburbs

The nation’s third wealthiest area is the Connecticut cities of Bridgeport, Stamford, and Norwalk. Included in this metro area is Greenwich, the hedge fund capital of the US. Many of the residents commute to Wall Street, where they earn a healthy income working for the investment banking business or supplying the legal and accounting backup for the dealmakers. Some 23.8 percent of the filers earned at least $100,000, according to Brookings.

4. San Francisco

The greater San Francisco area, including Oakland, Calif., is the fourth richest metro area, with many professionals working for high-tech software development companies or providing legal, public relations, or advertising services. Brookings found some 21.7 percent had incomes equal to or over $100,000.

5. Boston

The Boston area is full of highly educated people who work in the defense industry, biotechnology, and other science-oriented fields. That helps make Boston the fifth richest area with 19.4 percent of its 2 million tax filers earning at least $100,000.

Other top 10 wealthy areas that would feel the bite of higher taxes include Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Baltimore, Md.; Hartford, Conn.; Seattle; and the Los Angeles suburbs of Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura.

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