While there's no definitive line, households in the top 20% of earners are generally considered upper class. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in 2022 was $74,580. To reach the upper class in 2024, you'd typically need an income exceeding $153,000 – more than double the national median.
Here is how much household income you would need to qualify for the top U.S. income brackets in 2023, according to a new Motley Fool analysis: Top 10%: $234,900. Top 20%: $165,300. Top 30%: $127,300.
How much do you need to earn to be in the top 10% income bracket? A 2022 study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that the top 10% of earners nationally received an average income of $167,639 in 2021.
To join the top 10% of earners in the U.S., the magic number is $191,406 per year, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Upper-Middle Class (Next 20%): The median net worth is $201,800. This group often enjoys more discretionary income and benefits from long-term investments. Wealthy (Top 20%): The median net worth is $608,900. This group often represents older individuals who have accumulated significant savings and investments.
Moving into 2025, here's how it stands:
Anyone making more than that per year (and this is net, not gross) is in the top 50% of earners in the UK. The top 5% earn £7,251 per month or more. That's shockingly only £87,012 per year. Anyone making a six-figure salary is in the top 5%.
Interestingly, the 90th percentile is pretty flat, around $2.5M to $3M, from one's early 50s to one's 80s. The 95th is slightly less flat, with a peak slightly under $7M in one's late 60s; while the 99th percentile rises sharply with age until peaking over $22M in one's late 60s, from which point it mostly drops.
One half, 49.98%, of all income in the US was earned by households with an income over $100,000, the top twenty percent. Over one quarter, 28.5%, of all income was earned by the top 8%, those households earning more than $150,000 a year.
The middle class is commonly defined as households earning between two-thirds and double the median income, which is $128,151 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, California metro area, the Census Bureau reports. That means middle class households there earn between $85,434 and $256,302 a year.
In 2023, those U.S. households reported a median income of $80,610, up 4% from $77,540 in 2022. That means half of households reported less income, and half reported more. In other words, any household that made more than $80,610 ranks among the top 50% nationally.
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In 2024, Americans stated that the average net worth they consider “wealthy” is $2.5 million. That's up by $300,000 over last year, when Americans said $2.2 million qualified you as rich.
While it's not quite a six-figure salary, $90,000 for a single person is still higher than the average annual salary in the United States. Because of this, it can generally be considered a good salary for someone who is supporting only themself.
The Census Bureau put the average American household income at $80,610 from 2023 figures, and to be in the top 20% of income, you'd have to earn almost double the average, bringing in an income of above $130,500 a year.
Probably 1 in every 20 families have a net worth exceeding $3 Million, but most people's net worth is their homes, cars, boats, and only 10% is in savings, so you would typically have to have a net worth of $30 million, which is 1 in every 1000 families.
For instance, the U.S. income threshold to join the top 5% is $290,185 — about one-third of the income needed to be a one-percenter. "Definitely, the top 5% is much more obtainable," DeWood said. "The top 5% [income threshold] is good context for just how big of outliers the top 1% are."
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.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the national threshold for being in the top 10% of household incomes in 2021 was $191,406 per year. However, this single number doesn't tell the full story. The income needed to be a top 10% earner varies considerably based on age and geographic location.
It's important to remember that the definition of what it means to be rich is subjective. Someone who makes $250,000 a year, for example, could be considered rich if they're saving and investing in order to accumulate wealth and live in an area with a low cost of living.
They found that the top 20% of all Americans earn over $130,000 in income. Thats over 5 times more than the bottom 20%.
Facts and Stats About Americans Making More Than Six Figures (Editor's Choice): 13% of American workers aged 15 and above made more than 100k in 2021. The annual income of over 34% of American households exceeds $100,000. In the five years to 2022, American households earning over $100,000 a year increased by 2.9%.
An annual salary of $80,000 is considered good for a single person and is higher than the average pay in the United States. But just how far that money will go for you depends on your financial obligations, where you live, and other factors.