Hawai'i tops the nation in the percentage of millionaire households even when home values are excluded, a new survey says.

Phoenix Marketing International, a New York company that studies affluent U.S. households, said 6.8 percent of Hawai'i homes are occupied by people with more than $1 million in investable assets.

It was the second straight year Hawai'i topped the list.

"Hawai'i seems to be attracting a higher percentage of millionaires due to its climate and probably favorable business conditions," said David Thompson, vice president and managing director of Phoenix's affluent marketing practice.

Last year, Honolulu was ranked 10th nationally in percentage of millionaire households by Kiplinger.Com, the Web site of Kiplinger's personal finance magazine.

The Phoenix study estimated 29,423 of the state's 433,434 households were occupied by millionaires, defined as people with more than $1 million in cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and annuities.

LOW POVERTY AS WELL

The study excluded real-estate holdings from the count, but Thompson said typically people who live in luxury homes and mansions also have big bank accounts.

"You wouldn't be able to live in a place like that without being able to support it," he said.

While the number of millionaires is high, Hawai'i also ranks low in the percentage of people living in poverty. About 8.6 percent of the state's population was below the federal poverty line in 2005, according to Census Bureau data. That was the fifth lowest in the nation. The national average was 12.6 percent.

BUYING PRICEY HOMES

The hundreds of expensive beachfront homes in Hawai'i give testimony to the amount of money found in the state.

Patricia Choi, principal broker of a real-estate firm concentrating on high-end properties, said she's seen more and more wealthy people buying property here in the almost 30 years she's been in the business. While some are home-grown millionaires, others come from the Mainland and around the globe, she said.

One of the slogans her firm uses is "Hawai'i, like no place on earth."

"It really is true," said Choi, who sold $150 million of property last year and $200 million the year before.

"We have clean air and we have clean water. We have safety and they find privacy here."

She said for those reasons, she's seen people who've cashed out on Wall Street, those who hit it big in technology and even celebrities relocate here. Some split time between homes here and elsewhere in the world. The number of wealthy retirees relocating here also has grown over the past decade, Choi said.

UPPER ECHELON

Hawai'i's 6.8 percent millionaire ratio was two points higher than the national rate of 4.8 percent. After Hawai'i, the next four top-ranking states were New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Thompson said Hawai'i has been in the upper echelon of states in the study's five-year history. "The high cost of living combined with the affluent lifestyle gives Hawai'i the edge in the ratings," he said.

Mississippi had the lowest ratio of millionaire households at 3.58 percent. West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas and Montana rounded out the bottom five.

The study uses information from a survey that Phoenix Marketing does and U.S. Census Bureau data. Results from the study are used by large national banks and big brokerage firms to track investment habits of affluent households.

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.