(News Nation) – It costs around $800,000 to be the top 1% of US earners, but you could be one percent of your state.
West Virginia has the lowest threshold for becoming a 1% earner at $420,453, according to a 2024 survey by the personal finance website SmartAsset. Meanwhile, it would cost $1.21 million to become Washington, DC’s top 1%.
Meanwhile, SmartAsset was found to require you to make at least $290,185 a year to become the top 5% of American earners.
Looking at it, the latest data from the US Census Bureau found that the median household income for 2023 was $80,610 a year.
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How much do you have to make to be in the top 1%?
A SmartAsset survey found that it costs $787,712 to be the top 1% of earners. The report is based on individual filers’ 2021 IRS tax return data and was adjusted for June 2024.
A separate analysis of social security wage data by the Institute for Economic Policy found that the top 1% of earners in 2023 had an average annual wage of $794,129.
That’s about $15,200 a week to be over $66,000 a month or the top 1% of US earners.
According to the Institute for Economic Policy, the top 0.1% of the ultra-rich people and average revenues exceeded $2.8 million in 2023.
That number has skyrocketed 350% since 1979, but the average annual wage for the bottom 90% has increased by around 44% over the same period.
Does the top 1% differ by state?
To be in the top 1% of national earners, you need to make around $800,000, but you can earn quite a bit less and reach that status in your state.
According to SmartAsset, West Virginia has a lowest threshold for 1% earners, at $420,453 a year.
Mississippi ranks second, with residents having to make $440,744 to be the top 1% of earners. New Mexico’s third lowest threshold is $476,196.
According to SmartAsset, the states with the lowest income threshold are the top 1% of earners.
West Virginia ($420,453) Mississippi ($440,744) New Mexico ($476,196) Kentucky ($513,865) Arkansas ($531,692)
Meanwhile, residents of places like Washington, DC ($1.21 million), Connecticut ($1.15 million), and Massachusetts ($111 million) must make above the national average to become one percent of the area.
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In California, you need more than $1.03 million to become the top 1% of earners. Over 177,000 Golden State tax returns reached that threshold in 2021.
SmartAsset had to consider a state ranked based on minimum pre-tax income as the top 1% earner.
According to SmartAsset, the states with the highest income threshold, to be in the top 1% of income earners are:
Connecticut ($1,152,254) Massachusetts ($1,113,662) California ($1,035,673) Washington ($989,649) New Jersey ($975,645)
How many Americans are in the top 1% of earners?
According to SmartAsset, only 1.49 million Americans, a small percentage of taxpayers, reported enough income to fall below the top 1% in 2021.
California, the most populous state, has the highest taxpayer (177,645) in the top 1% of the nation, followed by Texas (126,128) and Florida (101,940).
Wyoming, the country’s lowest population, had the lowest taxpayers (2,616) in the top 1%, followed by Vermont (3,107) and Alaska (3,231).
How much do you need to earn to be in the top 5%?
According to the Institute for Economic Policy, in 2023, the top 5% of income earners averaged an annual wage of $352,773.
SmartAsset analysis found that the revenue threshold for the top 5% is $290,185 per year. That goes beyond the typical salary of high-earning occupations like doctors and pilots.
Again, the top 5% will vary greatly depending on where you live.
Washington, D.C., residents need to make $424,592 to become the top 5% of earners. According to SmartAsset, Massachusetts leads all states and needs to make $393,160 a year to make $393,160 a year into the top 5%.
Meanwhile, residents of Mississippi and West Virginia are in the top 5% if they make around $193,000 a year.
What about the wealthiest 1%?
Income and net worth are both ways of measuring financial security, but not the same.
Income is money you bring over a certain period, such as salary, dividends from investments, and interest from your savings account. Net assets, on the other hand, are a measure of wealth and are unpaid liabilities, minus the value of all assets.
1% of Americans own 30% of the country’s wealth
According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by personal finance site DQYDJ, the lowest net worth of the top 1% of US households was approximately $13.7 million as of 2023. To participate in the top 0.1%, you need a net worth of nearly $62 million.
According to the Federal Reserve, in the third quarter of 2024, the wealthiest 1% of American households held a record $49.2 trillion. This is more than 30% of the total wealth held by all US households.
Looking at it, according to a recent Redfin analysis, the wealthiest 1% can afford almost every home in America.
Superwealthy, Top 0.1% controls about 14% of all wealth held by American households since 9% in 1990, Fed data shows.
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