Around 44-45% of White American households earned over $100,000 annually in recent data (2024), significantly higher than other racial groups but still representing less than half of all White households, with overall U.S. households earning over $100k being about 43% in 2024, though figures vary slightly by source.
In 2024, about 44.7 percent of White households in the United States had an annual median income of over 100,000 U.S. dollars.
Among the nearly twenty million households with six figure incomes, 86.9% were White, 5.9% were Asian American, 5.6% were Hispanic and 5.5% were African American. Among the general individual population with earnings, 82.1% were White, 12.7% were Hispanic, 11.0% were African American and 4.6% were Asian American.
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%.
Making $200,000 counts as middle class in these cities. SmartAsset determined the middle class income range for various U.S. cities and all 50 states. San Jose and Irvine are among the cities in California with a higher middle class income range.
Median Salary for Ages 25-34
For Americans ages 25 to 34, the median salary is $1,150 per week or $59,800 per year. That's a big jump from the median salary for 20- to 24-year-olds. As a general rule, earnings tend to rise in your 20s and 30s as you start to climb the career ladder.
In contrast, more than 70% of White and Asian households were in either the middle or upper wealth tier. Roughly one-third of Asian households (36%) were in the upper tier alone, with a net worth of more than $667,500 in 2021. Slightly more than a quarter (28%) of White households were in the upper tier.
People making six-figure salaries used to be considered rich—now households earning nearly $200K a year aren't considered upper-class in some states. Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance.
Top earners across the United States earn nearly least six figures, with an average income of over $99,971 for those in the top 10% in 2022. Earners in the top 1% need to make $1 million annually in states like California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington.
Earning $100,000 can place you in the lower-middle to middle class, but it heavily depends on your location (cost of living), household size, and the specific definition used (like Pew Research vs. The Motley Fool). In high-cost areas, $100k might feel like lower-middle class or even low income, while in cheaper areas, it's comfortably middle-class or higher; national data often places it in the broad middle-income bracket, above average but not wealthy.
In 26 states, a family of four has to earn at least $100,000 a year to be considered “financially secure,” while in four states, a family of four would need to earn $150,000 to have a living wage: Hawaii ($259K), Massachusetts ($200K), California ($188K), and New York ($155K).
While there's no one set income level that will automatically qualify you for a $700,000 mortgage, using the rule of thumb that your housing payment should be no more than a third of your gross monthly income, you'll likely need somewhere between $180,000 and $200,000 per year to qualify, depending on other factors ...
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $178,000 and as low as $27,000, the majority of Credit Card Limit For 100K salaries currently range between $61,500 (25th percentile) to $135,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $177,500 annually across the United States.
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.
Middle class is commonly defined as earning between two-thirds and double the household median income. That means on a national level, the middle class includes households earning between $53,740 and $161,220 a year.
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%.