A big salary might feel like the clearest sign you’ve “made it”, but new figures suggest your address plays a major role in whether you’re actually considered rich.
According to a Visual Capitalist report, the income needed to land in the top 10 per cent of earners differs dramatically across the US. Depending on the state, that benchmark can range from roughly $198,000 to $386,800 a year.
The gap is stark in places like Massachusetts and West Virginia. In Massachusetts, households have to bring in close to double what’s required in West Virginia to be counted among the wealthy.
Washington DC sits in a category of its own. There, households need to earn about $330,800 to reach the top tier—well above nearby states—largely due to the concentration of government-related, high-paying jobs in the area.
At the other end of the spectrum is West Virginia, where an income below $200,000 can still be enough to qualify for the top 10 per cent.
Separate research also highlights how the definition of “rich” can shift over time. In 2024, Visa analysis found that a household needed to earn around $210,000 a year or have a net worth of $1.8 million to be considered in the richest 10 per cent.
Using that measure, about 12.2 million US households fell into the “rich” category. Gen X made up the bulk at 57 per cent, while Boomers accounted for 12 per cent, according to Newsweek.
Millennials and Gen Z together represented the remaining 31 per cent.
Before inflation accelerated following the 2020 pandemic, the same threshold was much lower—around $170,000.
One major reason these “rich” cut-offs vary so widely is that costs like housing, utilities, food, and other day-to-day expenses can look completely different from one state to the next.
Those differences helped drive a wave of moving during the pandemic era, when remote work became more common and many people took the opportunity to relocate somewhere more affordable.
Another analysis, based on data from the German tax platform BuchhaltungsButler and the Berlin-based data studio DataPulse Research, found the steepest requirement in the District of Columbia—where residents reportedly need to earn at least $635,000 per year to be in the top 10 per cent.
After DC, the states with the highest income bars include Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, New York, Hawaii, Alaska, and California, with Maryland and Rhode Island tied.
In many of these locations, reaching the richest bracket means earning more than twice what’s typically considered middle-class income. In the most expensive states—such as New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts—the gap can stretch to around three times as much.
That pattern tracks closely with living costs, since the places with the highest “rich” thresholds are often also the states where everyday life is the most expensive.
Further down the list, the earnings needed to break into the top 10 per cent drop considerably. In states like Arkansas or Mississippi, an annual income of about $270,000 can be enough to qualify.