Newport Beach is No. 2 in rich living

Newport Beach ranks No. 2 for pricey homes in the nation, according to CNN/Money Magazine’s 100 best places to live list.

Palo Alto in the Bay Area takes the top spot for most expensive with a median home price of $1.18 million; while Newport Beach, at $1.008 million, barely leads above the third spot of Greenwich, Conn., $997,498.

Irvine and Fountain Valley tied for the No. 22 spot at $550,000. Huntington Beach was No. 23 at $540,000.

The ratings are based on sales data collected from county and municipal assessors’ offices by Onboard Informatics. Only towns where there were more than 100 home sales in 2009 were considered, according to CNN Money website.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median price of new homes in 2009 in the nation reached its peak in December at $222,6000 and the low in March at $205,100.

—Sarah Peters