How Much Income Puts You in the Top 1%, 5%, 10%? (2024)

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How Much Income Puts You in the Top 1%, 5%, 10%? ›

The top 10% of household incomes starts at $191,406, the top 5% at $290,406, and the top 1% at $867,436. Those are the nationwide numbers, but they also vary considerably if you account for other factors, such as age or location. Income is a key part of personal finance, but it's not all that matters.

The top 10% of household incomes starts at $191,406, the top 5% at $290,406, and the top 1% at $867,436. Those are the nationwide numbers, but they also vary considerably if you account for other factors, such as age or location. Income is a key part of personal finance, but it's not all that matters.

The most recent data from the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances took a snapshot of the American public at the end of 2022. At that point, a net worth of $3,795,000 was enough to put you in the top 5% of all American households.

Top 10% wealth: The top 10% of the population has a net worth of approximately $854,900.

Entering the top 1% of earners requires an average annual income of $819,324. In the highest echelon — the top 0.1% — the average income is $3.3 million.

Nationally, the middle class in 2022 included households with incomes between $50,100 and $150,300. A decade earlier, the middle class included household incomes between about $35,400 and $106,100.

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.

You need more money than ever to enter the ranks of the top 1% of the richest Americans. To join the club of the wealthiest citizens in the U.S., you'll need at least $5.8 million, up about 15% up from $5.1 million one year ago, according to global real estate company Knight Frank's 2024 Wealth Report.

Being in the top 20% of earners in California means making at least $171,387 a year. The Golden State, known for its pricey real estate and high cost of living, particularly in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, demands a substantial income to be considered wealthy.

What percentage of retirees have $3 million dollars? ›

Specifically, those with over $1 million in retirement accounts are in the top 3% of retirees. The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) estimates that 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million, and a mere 0.1% have $5 million or more, based on data from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances.

The 95th percentile is considered wealthy, with $3.2 million household net worth, so even more spending power, which means estate planning and possibly more than one home.

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.

For example, you may be considered rich if you're in the nation's top 1% of earners. In 2022, that group saw an average annual income from wages of $785,968—nearly 19 times higher than the bottom 90%, according to the Economic Policy Institute Open in new tab.

Near the top — the 99th to 99.9th percentile — they typically own single establishments that offer consulting, legal, medical and other highly specialized services. Among the top 0.1 percent, above the 99.9th percentile, the typical company is an auto dealership, beverage distributor, or large law firm.

The top 10% of households have an average equivalised disposable income of £70,900 per year while the bottom 10% have an average of £10,600. More details about how these data have been equivalised are available.

In contrast, the same figure increases to about $50,000 for median workers and further escalates steeply to about $400,000 for the top 2% earners.

The real median household income in the U.S. is around $71,000, according to the latest Census Bureau data. In order to be in the top 20% of income, you'd need to earn nearly double that amount or an average of $130,545 per year.