People have dreamed about it. People have longed for it. Some have worked long and hard for it. Some people claim they don’t even care about it. Then… you have those people that hate the people who have it. But what is it and how much does it take to have “it?”
The “it “ being discussed here is the condition of being rich. Not the feeling of being rich: That can be fleeting or lack any sense of continuity. We are discussing the exact amount it takes to be rich.
Rich is a relative term that is only helpful when compared to something else. It is the extreme opposite of being poor. So according to the IRS, rich is defined as the top 20% of income earners in America. That is not a feeling, it is a highly quantifiable number. Nationally, to be in the top 20% of income earners last year, one needed to make at least.
According to data from the Census Bureau, the median household income in the U.S. is approximately $71,000. To reach the top 20% of earners, an individual would need to earn nearly double this amount, averaging around $130,545 per year.
The threshold for being in the top 5% of earners highlights even more stark contrasts. For example, in Connecticut, you’d need to make $602,707 to be in this elite group, the highest among all states. This is due to Connecticut’s concentration of high-income jobs and proximity to New York’s financial industries.
Moreover, how one is considered wealthy can vary significantly from state to state, reflecting the diverse economic landscapes and cost of living. For instance, while an income of around $101,447 places you in the top 20% in Mississippi, you would need almost $180,558 to achieve the same status in New Jersey. These disparities illustrate that the financial benchmark for wealth is deeply influenced by regional economic condition.
