How Much You Need to Make to Be in the 1% in Every State

New Mexico is one of the lowest-income states in the country, with the average taxpayer earning $60,109 a year. It also has one of the lowest thresholds to be among the top 1% of earners among states at $341,111. In the vast majority of states, an annual income of at least $400,000 is needed to be among the top 1%.

New York is one of only four states where it takes over $700,000 in annual income to be among the top 1% of earners. The state’s high threshold is driven up by New York City, where many of the world’s wealthiest have homes and there is a concentration of high paying jobs. One-percenters in New York earn $2.9 million on average, and their combined earnings account for 29.3% of all income in the state. Meanwhile, the bottom quarter of earners in the state account for just 2.9% of all income.

The top 1% of earners in North Carolina earn at least $453,976, which is near the middle of the 50 states. Collectively, the state’s top 1% of earners account for about one-third of the state’s total income, which is also in the middle of all states. Nationwide, the top 1% of earners account for 38.3% of the national’s total income.

North Dakota has a more even distribution of income compared to other states. The top 25% of earners in North Dakota state account for 78.5% of the state’s total Federal income taxes paid, the lowest share of any state. The state has a lower share of households with incomes of less than $10,000 per year and a lower share of households earning more than $200,000 compared to the comparable national shares of households.

It takes an annual income of at least $412,919 to be among the top 1% of earners in Ohio, a lower threshold than in most states. Across populations, incomes tend to rise with educational attainment, and in Ohio, just 29.0% of adults have a bachelor’s degree, below the 32.6% share of adults nationwide. States with a higher top 1% income threshold also tend to have higher educational attainment.