10 States Where You Need the Most Income to Be in the Top 1%

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Half of Americans earn less than the U.S. median income of around $75,000, according to new research from SmartAsset, a personal finance website.

In contrast, high-income earners can make 10 time or more than that amount.

These individuals constitute the top 1% of earners, and are a disproportionately large part of the tax base — with their incomes generally putting them in the highest federal tax bracket rate at 37%.

SmartAsset noted that state and local level taxes may affect the spread of high earners across these areas, but the cost of living can also be considerably different across the country.

As a result, what it takes to be considered a top 1% income earner can differ by more than $500,000 from state to state.

To determine how much income is needed to be in the top 1% of earners in each state, SmartAsset researchers analyzed 2021 data from the IRS for individual tax filers, and adjusted the figures to June 2024 dollars, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers U.S. city average series for all items, not seasonally adjusted.

The analysis found that nationwide, it takes $787,712 to be in the top 1% of earners. In 2021, 1.5 million tax returns in the U.S. met this criterion. To be in the top 5% of American earners, a taxpayer needed to earn at least $290,185 annually.

The state in which it takes the most to be in a top 1% had to take a back seat to the District of Columbia, where residents needed $1.2 million to be among top earners. Some 3,300 D.C. residents made the cut. Those counted in the top 5% earned at least $424,592.

West Virginia had the lowest threshold to be a 1% earner at $420,453, according to the analysis. Mississippi ranked second for lowest threshold at $440,744, and New Mexico third with a threshold of $476,196.

See the gallery for the 10 states with the highest threshold to be a top 1% earner.

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