Approximately 26% to over 30% of U.S. households earn over $150,000 annually, with figures varying slightly by source, including roughly 10% making $150,000–$199,999 and 16–19% making over $200,000. For individual earners, the top 10% threshold was approximately $149,000–$155,000 in 2025.
Over one quarter, 28.5%, of all income was earned by the top 8%, those households earning more than $150,000 a year. The top 3.65%, with incomes over $200,000, earned 17.5%.
A $150k salary is quite good and relatively rare, placing a household in the top 10-20% nationally, far above the median income, but its "wealth" status varies significantly by location, feeling middle-class in high-cost areas like San Francisco but affluent in lower-cost regions. While it's well above the national median ($70k-$100k range), it's not yet top 1% ($450k+) but puts you in the upper-middle class for most places.
To be in the top 25% of income earners you need around $127,000 a year in income. Top 10% is around $200,000 annually. Top 5% is around $300,000, and top 1% you need to earn around $750,000 per year.
They found that the top 20% of all Americans earn over $130,000 in income. Thats over 5 times more than the bottom 20%.
While just 0.79 percent of jobs in the country paid more than $500,000 per year, that's well more than 1 million positions. Per the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, average annual employment in the United States during 2023 was 153,140,899, or 131,289,681 if only the private sector is included.
According to Pew Research, middle-income households earn between $56,600 and $169,800 a year, depending on household size and local cost of living. Many sources, including GoBankingRates, place upper middle class income somewhere between $106,000 and $150,000, though that too varies by region.
The survey: The Census Bureau's new 2024 tables show that about 14% of U.S. households have annual income over $200,000. The percentage in the category ranges from more than 22%, in Massachusetts, down to less than 6%, in two states.
Here's a wealth class framework described by Bo Hanson, CFA, CFP® that breaks out 5 groups by net worth: the bottom 25%, the lower middle class, upper middle class, upper class, and the wealthiest 10%.
Around 18-21% of individual American adults earn over $100,000 annually, though this jumps to over 40% for U.S. households, depending on the source and year, with higher percentages for men and those aged 35-44. Data from sources like YouGov and DQYDJ shows roughly 18-21% of individuals, while household figures from Census-based data place the number of households earning over $100k at over 40%.
Americans now believe it takes an average of $2.3 million to be considered wealthy. That's a 21% rise since 2021, reflecting the way inflation and soaring costs have changed perceptions of wealth.
Nationwide, upper-middle class households earn a median income between $117,000 and $150,000, according to a new GOBankingRates analysis of 2023 Census Bureau data. The analysis is based on Pew Research's definition of middle class: households earning between two-thirds and twice their state's median income.
Only a small percentage of Americans earn over $300k; estimates suggest around 2% of individuals earn $300k+ in personal income, while roughly 2.5% of households reach this combined income level, placing them in the top few percentiles of earners, though this figure varies by state and data source.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in the United States in 2023 was approximately $70,000. With a 6-figure salary, you are earning at least 1.4 times the median income in the country, which places you above the middle class.
For instance, if you have a net worth of 1.5 million, following this rule would mean withdrawing $60,000 (which is 4% of $1.5 million) in the first year. By annually adjusting this withdrawal to accommodate inflation, your retirement savings are likely to last for 30 years or even longer.
Based on the definition of the middle class, the income range for this group is anywhere from $56,600 and $169,800 for 2025. That means that to be considered in the top 20% of the middle class, you would need to earn between about $117,000 and $150,000.
Around 24 million Americans have a net worth of $1 million or more, representing roughly 1 in 11 adults or about 8.8% of the population, though this figure often refers to households rather than individuals, with recent data from late 2024/early 2025 suggesting numbers around 22-24 million. While the average household net worth has surpassed $1 million due to strong markets and real estate, the median is much lower, showing wealth concentration, but millions joined the millionaire club recently, adding over 1,000 a day in 2024.
"36% of American households that earn $100,000 or more live paycheck to paycheck." The national average living wage for a family of four is 104K. If living wage is defined as covering the basic essentials, then a family making 100K would be living paycheck to paycheck.