Key figures
- Nationally, it takes an income of $787,712 to be in the top 1% of earners, according to the graphic and SmartAsset [3].
- Connecticut has the highest state threshold at $1.2 million ($1,152,254), followed by Massachusetts at $1.1 million and California at $1.0 million [2].
- West Virginia has the lowest at $420,000 ($420,453), then Mississippi ($441,000) and New Mexico ($476,000) [2].
- The gap between the highest and lowest state is about $732,000 (our arithmetic from the exact figures).
- The graphic sets the national threshold against a US median income of about $75,000.
Top 1% income threshold by state, in text
Header: Visual of the Week. Title: The Income Needed to Join the Top 1% in Every U.S. State 2024. A blue scale runs from “Lowest” (light) to “Highest” (dark navy). Callouts mark West Virginia as lowest and Connecticut as highest. The map labels are rounded; the exact figures come from the dataset Visual Capitalist published with the map [2].
| Rank | State | Label on the map | Exact threshold (SmartAsset, June 2024 dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | $1.2M | $1,152,254 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $1.1M | $1,113,662 |
| 3 | California | $1.0M | $1,035,673 |
| 4 | Washington | $990K | $989,649 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $976K | $975,645 |
| 6 | New York | $966K | $965,645 |
| 7 | Colorado | $866K | $865,700 |
| 8 | Florida | $852K | $852,206 |
| 9 | Wyoming | $843K | $843,121 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | not shown | $811,098 |
| 11 | Utah | $784K | $784,233 |
| 12 | Illinois | $783K | $783,340 |
| 13 | Nevada | $777K | $777,180 |
| 14 | Texas | $762K | $762,090 |
| 15 | Virginia | $761K | $760,610 |
| 16 | Maryland | $742K | $741,501 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $730K | $730,096 |
| 18 | South Dakota | $727K | $727,168 |
| 19 | Montana | $716K | $715,899 |
| 20 | Idaho | $704K | $703,997 |
| 21 | Georgia | $701K | $700,544 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $696K | $696,192 |
| 23 | Arizona | $689K | $688,934 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $684K | $684,124 |
| 25 | Oregon | $683K | $683,170 |
| 26 | Tennessee | $679K | $678,956 |
| 27 | North Carolina | $665K | $665,021 |
| 28 | Kansas | $651K | $651,226 |
| 29 | Rhode Island | $651K | $650,914 |
| 30 | Nebraska | $629K | $629,413 |
| 31 | Vermont | $623K | $623,244 |
| 32 | Alaska | $621K | $620,783 |
| 33 | Delaware | $618K | $618,488 |
| 34 | South Carolina | $611K | $611,219 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $610K | $610,435 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $610K | $609,846 |
| 37 | Michigan | $604K | $603,834 |
| 38 | Missouri | $590K | $590,001 |
| 39 | Maine | $588K | $588,394 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $587K | $587,399 |
| 41 | Ohio | $581K | $581,161 |
| 42 | Iowa | $572K | $571,730 |
| 43 | Alabama | $557K | $557,334 |
| 44 | Indiana | $553K | $552,877 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $541K | $540,879 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $532K | $531,692 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $514K | $513,865 |
| 48 | New Mexico | $476K | $476,196 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $441K | $440,744 |
| 50 | West Virginia | $420K | $420,453 |
Summary panel: “It takes an income of $787,712 to be in the top 1% of earners nationally” and “The median income in the U.S. is approximately $75,000”. Footer: Visual Capitalist logo, “Source: SmartAsset” and “Presented by Visual Capitalist”. An illustration shows a woman holding a fan of banknotes with a bag of cash.
How SmartAsset calculated the thresholds
SmartAsset ranked states by the minimum pre-tax income needed to count as a top 1% earner. It used 2021 IRS data for individual tax filers and adjusted the figures to June 2024 dollars with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) [3]. The thresholds are therefore inflation-adjusted 2021 incomes, not incomes reported in 2024.
SmartAsset notes that half of Americans earn less than the median of about $75,000, that top earners can make 10 times that or more, and that their incomes generally put them in the highest federal tax bracket of 37% [3]. It adds that the threshold can differ by over $500,000 from state to state [3].
Where the bar is highest and lowest
Six states need close to $1 million or more: Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Washington, New Jersey and New York. Visual Capitalist’s article says that in some states your income needs to crack $1 million to join the state’s top 1%, while in others it takes less than half of that [1]. The five lowest thresholds, all under $535,000, are in West Virginia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Kentucky and Arkansas.
The same article puts the threshold for the global top 1% far lower, at an annual salary of about $65,000 [1].
Notes on this infographic
- New Hampshire’s value is missing. The $623K label printed beside “VT” is Vermont’s figure ($623,244). New Hampshire has no value on the map; its threshold is $811,098, 10th highest [2][3].
- The District of Columbia is not labelled on the map and is not in the dataset.
- Kansas and Rhode Island both round to $651K, and Wisconsin and Hawaii both round to $610K; the ranks above use the exact figures.
- The “2024” in the title refers to the dollar values (June 2024); the underlying incomes are from 2021 tax returns [3].
Questions about the top 1% income threshold
What is the top 1% of income in the United States?
SmartAsset’s 2024 study puts the national threshold at $787,712 of pre-tax income, in June 2024 dollars, based on 2021 IRS data [3].
What is the top 1% income threshold in New York State?
$965,645, the sixth highest of the 50 states on this map [2].
Which state has the highest income needed to be in the top 1%?
Connecticut has the highest threshold, $1,152,254, followed by Massachusetts at $1,113,662 and California at $1,035,673 [2]. West Virginia has the lowest at $420,453, then Mississippi at $440,744 and New Mexico at $476,196 [2]. The gap between the highest and lowest state is about $732,000.
How is the top 1% income threshold calculated?
SmartAsset ranked states by the minimum pre-tax income needed to count as a top 1% earner, using 2021 IRS data for individual tax filers [3]. It adjusted the figures to June 2024 dollars with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) [3]. The thresholds are therefore inflation-adjusted 2021 incomes, not incomes reported in 2024.
Sources
- Bruno Venditti, Visual Capitalist, Mapped, The Income Needed to Join the Top 1% in Every U.S. State (31 December 2024), the publisher’s article for this map.
- Visual Capitalist on Voronoi, Mapped, The Income Needed to Join the Top 1% in Every U.S. State (30 December 2024), original post with the full state dataset.
- SmartAsset, Incomes Needed to Be a Top 1% Earner Reach Over $1 Million in Some States, 2024 Study (24 July 2024), the data source named on the graphic.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
