What does it take to join the top 1% of income earners in America?
Well, it depends on where you live. In some states, your annual income needs to crack $1 million to be among the state’s income elite—in others, it takes less than half of that to make the cut.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, illustrates the income needed to be in the top 1% of earners in each state.
The data was compiled by SmartAsset as of June 2024.
SmartAsset analyzed 2021 IRS data for individual tax filers.
Figures were adjusted to June 2024 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average series for all items, not seasonally adjusted.
Key Takeaways
Nationwide, it takes an income of $787,712 to be in the top 1% of earners.
The median U.S. income is approximately $75,000, with half of Americans earning less.
Earning over $1 million annually is required to join the top 1% in three states. Connecticut leads with the highest threshold at $1.2 million, followed by Massachusetts at $1.11 million, and California at $1.04 million. Meanwhile, in West Virginia, the threshold is almost a third of Connecticut’s at $420,000.
| Rank | State | Income of the top 1% |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | $1,152,254 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $1,113,662 |
| 3 | California | $1,035,673 |
| 4 | Washington | $989,649 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $975,645 |
| 6 | New York | $965,645 |
| 7 | Colorado | $865,700 |
| 8 | Florida | $852,206 |
| 9 | Wyoming | $843,121 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | $811,098 |
| 11 | Utah | $784,233 |
| 12 | Illinois | $783,340 |
| 13 | Nevada | $777,180 |
| 14 | Texas | $762,090 |
| 15 | Virginia | $760,610 |
| 16 | Maryland | $741,501 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $730,096 |
| 18 | South Dakota | $727,168 |
| 19 | Montana | $715,899 |
| 20 | Idaho | $703,997 |
| 21 | Georgia | $700,544 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $696,192 |
| 23 | Arizona | $688,934 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $684,124 |
| 25 | Oregon | $683,170 |
| 26 | Tennessee | $678,956 |
| 27 | North Carolina | $665,021 |
| 28 | Kansas | $651,226 |
| 29 | Rhode Island | $650,914 |
| 30 | Nebraska | $629,413 |
| 31 | Vermont | $623,244 |
| 32 | Alaska | $620,783 |
| 33 | Delaware | $618,488 |
| 34 | South Carolina | $611,219 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $610,435 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $609,846 |
| 37 | Michigan | $603,834 |
| 38 | Missouri | $590,001 |
| 39 | Maine | $588,394 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $587,399 |
| 41 | Ohio | $581,161 |
| 42 | Iowa | $571,730 |
| 43 | Alabama | $557,334 |
| 44 | Indiana | $552,877 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $540,879 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $531,692 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $513,865 |
| 48 | New Mexico | $476,196 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $440,744 |
| 50 | West Virginia | $420,453 |
On a global basis, the average salary to hit the top 1% is quite a bit lower: an annual salary of about $65,000 does the trick.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which ranks the income a family needs to live comfortably in every U.S. state.
