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In The Middle Of The Desert, A City Created To Build Weapons Of Mass Destruction Has Transformed Into One Of The Wealthiest And Most Educated Places. Nuclear Secrets And Also A Surprising Fact: More Than 12% Of The Population Is Millionaire.
In the collective imagination, money in the United States would be concentrated in places like New York, Los Angeles, or even hidden in some underground vault. But one of the richest spots in the country is in an isolated city in New Mexico.
In a single census district of Los Alamos, 13.2% of the population is made up of millionaires.
This means that for every seven and a half people, one has at least one million dollars in investable assets.
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A City Made For The Bomb
Los Alamos was built during World War II with a single goal: to secretly develop the atomic bomb.
The city was part of the Manhattan Project, which is why it was located in a remote area. For years, it was a military town, with restricted access and a clear purpose.
Even after the war ended, Los Alamos’ fate remained undefined.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, reportedly suggested returning the land to the indigenous peoples of the region. But this idea was not pursued.
Instead, the laboratory continued to operate, even without a clear mission for some time.
Later, it began focusing on creating even more powerful bombs — including thermonuclear ones, which emerged during the Cold War.
From Military Base To Model City
In 1954, President Harry Truman signed the Atomic Energy Act, transferring responsibility for the nuclear arsenal from the military to civilians.
Three years later, the security gates of Los Alamos were removed.
The city then became, at least formally, a municipality like any other. But it still housed one of the largest nuclear physics laboratories in the U.S.
Over time, the laboratory’s mission expanded. Besides bombs, it began working on research in national security and alternative fuels.
With so much public money involved and the need to attract highly skilled professionals, Los Alamos transformed into a hub of opportunities.
PhDs Everywhere
The education level in Los Alamos is impressive. While the average rate of college graduates in New Mexico is 28.5%, in Los Alamos this figure reaches 69%.
And more: almost 18% of the population over 25 years old has a doctorate, the highest rate in the country.
To put it in perspective, in maps showing the concentration of PhDs by county, Los Alamos stands out, with a darker color than any other region.
This pattern reflects in the quality of life. While 18.4% of New Mexico residents live in poverty, in Los Alamos, this rate is only 4.7%.
Access to the internet, healthcare, and other basic services is also higher. There’s even a bar that serves a craft beer called Oppenheimer IPA.
An Oasis In The Desert
But this wealth does not spread to the surrounding cities. The contrast between Los Alamos and the neighboring county of Rio Arriba is stark. Despite having half the population, Los Alamos generates eight times more revenue. It has more cafes, better infrastructure, and more income per capita.
Rio Arriba, on the other hand, has a simple municipal website, with links to a job listing and an auction for a 2008 Ford Taurus.
Although many residents of Rio Arriba work in Los Alamos, no resource redistribution policy has proven sustainable.
Efforts to change this reality have amounted to little more than isolated attempts.
Millionaires Among Bombs And Deserts
Today, Los Alamos is an isolated point of wealth in the middle of New Mexico, one of the poorest states in the U.S.
With its origins linked to destruction, it has reinvented itself as a research center and a city of millionaires. Not by luck, nor by loopholes in the law.
But through decades of heavy investment, high salaries, and the necessity of maintaining a scientific elite living in the middle of nowhere.
Thus, the map of American millionaires holds a curious secret: a small corner in the desert where science, war, and money intersect uniquely.
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