Americans Need To Earn $800,000 To Be in the Top 1%: Here Are the States With the Wealthiest Residents

Americans must earn almost $800,000 to be in the top 1% of households nationally. However, even those who make half that amount of money could squeeze into that elite club.

And it all comes down to where you call home, according to a report by Axios.

The region that demands the highest payday to join the elite 1% is not a state but a compact district. In Washington, DC, you’ll join the upper echelon of earners only if you bring home a whopping $1.22 million a year. Rounding out the top three states with the highest 1% threshold are Connecticut ($1.17 million) and Massachusetts ($1.13 million).

Residents of West Virginia, on the other hand, can leave 99% of their fellow Mountain Staters behind if their annual salary is $426,000. The other states with the lowest 1% entry are Mississippi ($446,370) followed by New Mexico ($482,270).

“The breakdown of top 1% income by state is, unsurprisingly, quite similar to listing prices in those states,” says Realtor.com® senior economist Joel Berner.

Berner explains that, in addition to sky-high entry to the 1% club, Washington, DC, Massachusetts, Washington, and California account for four of the top six states with the highest median list prices. On the flip side, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi are all in the bottom 10 of median list prices by state.

“Locations with higher earners naturally end up with higher-priced homes built there,” adds Berner.

Axios compiled the data by examining the adjusted gross income residents reported on tax filings in the 2021 tax year and then adjusting that figure to 2024 dollars.

So what accounts for the wild disparity between the 1% in the top and bottom states? It all comes down to variances in “local economic factors, like job opportunities and wealth concentration.”

The U.S. regions with the highest threshold to the 1%

Washington, DC

1% threshold: $1.22 million
Top 1% of list prices: $5,836,500
Median list price: $599,000

Connecticut

1% threshold: $1.17 million
Top 1% of list prices: $6,667,726
Median list price: $439,900

Massachusetts

1% threshold: $1.13 million
Top 1% of list prices: $9,961,655
Median list price: $699,900

California

1% threshold: $1.05 million
Top 1% of list prices: $10,023,903
Median list price: $727,000

Washington 

1% threshold: $1,000,000
Top 1% of list prices: $4,117,966
Median list price: $625,000

The U.S. regions with the lowest threshold to the 1%

West Virginia

1% threshold: $426,000
Top 1% of list prices: $1,375,000
Median list price: $249,900

Mississippi 

1% threshold: $446,370
Top 1% of list prices: $1,428,100
Median list price: $280,000

New Mexico

1% threshold: $482,270
Top 1% of list prices: $2,996,125 
Median list price: $375,318

Kentucky

1% threshold: $520,420
Top 1% of list prices: $1,597,851
Median list price: $289,900

Arkansas

1% threshold: $538,470
Top 1% of list prices: $1,906,890
Median list price: $289,900