Who are high income earners in the US and what do they think? (2024)

FAQs

What is a high income earner in the US? ›

Top earners across the United States earn at least six figures, with an average income of over $160,000 for those in the top 10% in 2021. Earners in the top 1% must make $1 million per year in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington.

Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.

According to the Pew Research Center report, the median 2022 household income for a three-person household is as follows for each income tier: Upper-class household: $256,920, a 78% increase from 1970. Middle-class household: $106,092, a 60% increase from 1970. Lower-class household: $35,318, a 55% increase from 1970.

Residents of the District of Columbia had the highest personal income per capita in 2023, at 100,909 U.S. dollars. Mississippi residents, on the other hand, had the lowest personal income per capita, at 48,110 U.S. dollars.

Massachusetts follows closely behind at $1.11 million, and California residents must similarly earn $1.04 million or more to be considered a top earner. Nationwide, it takes $787,712 to be in the top 1% of earners. 1.49 million tax returns in the U.S. met this criteria in 2021.

Americans believe it now takes an average net worth of $2.5 million to be counted as rich, a 14% increase from last year's $2.2 million, according to a new survey from Charles Schwab.

If you're in the upper class, you're sitting pretty. The top 10% of earners have an average net worth of $2.65 million. Even if you're squeaking into the upper class (the 80-90% range), you're looking at about $793,000.

How much does the average American make a year? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 was $59,384. This is up 5.4% from the same time period in 2022 when the average American was making $56,316 per year.

The American upper class is a social group within the United States consisting of people who have the highest social rank, due to economic wealth, lineage, and typically educational attainment. The American upper class is estimated to be the richest 1% of the population.

What salary is middle class? ›

Here's how much you have to earn in California to qualify as middle class, study says — between $ 61,270 to $183,810. I feel like this highlights the cost of living discrepancy found in CA.

According to IRS standards, a monthly income of approximately $45,000 qualifies someone as wealthy. However, if you're aiming for the top 1% as measured by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), you'd need to earn about $68,277 monthly.

Top 1% Income By Age

Top 1% income for ages 32-36: $210,000. Top 1% income for ages 37-41: $260,000. Top 1% income for ages 42-46: $320,000.

In the U.S., it may take you $5.81 million to be in the top 1%, but it takes a minimum net worth of $30 million to be considered among the ultra-high net worth crowd. As of the end of 2023, this ultra-high net worth population is on the rise, reaching 626,000 globally, up from just over 600,000 a year earlier.

It's a lot easier to count among the nation's top 5% of earners, SmartAsset's data shows. For instance, the U.S. income threshold to join the top 5% is $290,185 — about one-third of the income needed to be a one-percenter.

One estimate found that the median U.S. household income is $77,397. Only 18% of individual Americans make more than $100,000 a year, according to 2023 data from careers website Zippia. About 34% of U.S. households earn more than $100,000 a year, according to Zippia.

$200,000 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $300,000 is the 75th percentile.