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If you’re trying to keep up with the Joneses, you need to know how much this proverbially well-off American family has at its disposal. And that means knowing what the average American household earns annually as well as how much wealth it holds. As you go higher up the scale, the numbers accelerate, with the top 1 percent having much more than the average.
Here are the average income and wealth for Americans in the top 1 percent.
What is the average wage for Americans and the top 1 percent?
The table below provides data on wages of Americans from the Social Security Administration.
- For 2022, the average wage for working Americans was $61,136.
- The average wages of those in the top 1 percent of wage earners were $785,968 that year.
- In the rarefied top 0.1 percent, the average earnings were more than $2.8 million in 2022.
Here is how a few remaining categories break down by cohort and year.
Dollar figures are in 2022 dollars.Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of Social Security Administration data
| Category | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|
| Dollar figures are in 2022 dollars. Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of Social Security Administration data |
| Average wages | $61,136 | $62,889 |
| Average wages of bottom 90 percent | $40,845 | $40,928 |
| Average wages of 90th–99th percentile | $183,511 | $187,609 |
| Average wages of top 1 percentile | $785,968 | $916,928 |
| Average wages of top 0.1 percentile | $2,817,436 | $3,707,327 |
This Social Security data includes any wages, salaries, bonuses, severance and other such compensation to employees, including exercised stock options, which are taxed as earned income. However, it does not include realized capital gains, though they are subject to taxes.
So these income figures show how much the average group member receives as earned income. But the higher up the scale you go up, the more likely the member is to have unearned income, such as dividends and capital gains – which are, again, not reflected in this data.
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What is the average wealth for Americans and the top 1 percent?
The table below provides data on wealth from the Federal Reserve, including FRED data from the St. Louis Fed indicating there were 131.4 million American households as of 2023.
- As of the second quarter 2023, the average American household had wealth of $1.09 million.
- The average wealth of households in the top 1 percent was about $33.4 million.
- In the top 0.1 percent, the average household had wealth of more than $1.52 billion.
Here is how the remaining cohorts break down by percentile.
| Category | Total cohort wealth (share) | Wealth per household |
|---|
| Note: Figures do not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. Sources: Households data from FRED; wealth data from the Federal Reserve, with figures as of Q2 2023 |
| Average wealth | $143.72 trillion (100 percent) | $1.09 million |
| Average wealth of bottom 50 percent | $3.68 trillion (2.6 percent) | $55,998 |
| Average wealth of 50th – 90th percentile | $44.09 trillion (30.7 percent) | $838,634 |
| Average wealth of 90th – 99th percentile | $52 trillion (36.2 percent) | $4,395,954 |
| Average wealth of 99th – 99.9th percentile | $23.9 trillion (16.6 percent) | $18,367,709 |
| Average wealth of top 0.1 percent | $20.05 trillion (14.0 percent) | $1,525,480,469 |
The key figures here are not only the average wealth per household but also the share held by each, especially at the top. For example, the top 1 percent of households hold 30.6 percent of the total wealth, according to the Federal Reserve. But just the top 0.1 percent own 14 percent of the total wealth, giving them a stunning average of more than $1.52 billion per household.
Similarly, while average wealth per household is more than $1 million, the number is skewed much higher because of the vast wealth at one end of the wealth distribution.
Don’t confuse high earners with the wealthy
You can measure whether you’re in the top 1 percent in two major ways: income and wealth. Income is the amount of money you earn annually, while wealth is the amount of assets you own. While these categories are often correlated with each other, they aren’t the same. That is, high earners often hold a lot of assets, but they don’t necessarily have to if they spend a lot.
For example, the wealthy may have relatively low incomes, say, if much of their wealth is tied up in an illiquid asset such as a house or even an illiquid or non-dividend-paying stock. While they may have a high net worth, they’re unable to generate income from the illiquid asset and therefore must continue with relatively low income if they intend to continue owning that asset.
Similarly, high earners generate a lot of money each year but need not be wealthy. Those who spend all of their earnings may not be building any wealth if their money doesn’t go into assets.
Those looking to build wealth over time may want to work with a financial advisor or wealth manager to help them find smart strategies to turn income into wealth.
Bottom line
If you’re looking to build wealth, then your decisions must reflect that fact. While those with a lot of wealth can turn it into income, those with high incomes but little wealth have just one way to join the ranks of the wealthy – be a disciplined saver and get your money working for you.
FAQs
For 2022, the average wage for working Americans was $61,136. The average wages of those in the top 1 percent of wage earners were $785,968 that year. In the rarefied top 0.1 percent, the average earnings were more than $2.8 million in 2022.
What income puts me in the top 1%? ›
How much do you need to earn to be in the top 1% income bracket? To be in the top 1% of earners, you're looking at an average annual income of $819,324. The top 0.1% of Americans earn an average of $3,312,693.
How wealthy do you need to be in the top 1%? ›
In the United States, this number stood at $5.8 million last year. Despite the 1% being considered ultra-rich, Knight Frank remarks that many of the world's 1% are not actually ultra-high-net-worth individuals with assets of over $30 million.
What net worth puts you in the top 1% in the US? ›
The top 1% of household net worth in the U.S. was just shy of $13.7 million in 2023. An individual would have to earn an average of $407,500 per year to join the top 1%. A household would need an income of $591,550. The median household income was $74,580 in 2023 and $45,440 for individuals.
What percentile is a $3 million net worth? ›
The 95th percentile, with a net worth of $3.2 million, is considered wealthy, facilitating estate planning and possibly owning multiple homes. The top 1%, or the 99th percentile, has a net worth of $16.7 million and represents the very wealthy, who enjoy considerable financial freedom and luxury.
What is top 3 percent income in the US? ›
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.
| Data | Top third | Top 3% |
|---|
| Household income |
|---|
| Lower threshold (annual gross income) | $65,000 | $200,000 |
| Exact percentage of households | 34.72% | 2.67% |
| Personal income (age 25+) |
2 more rowsIn contrast, the same figure increases to about $50,000 for median workers and further escalates steeply to about $400,000 for the top 2% earners. The figure below illustrates the average earnings between ages 25 and 55 of individuals in the bottom 2%, median and top 2% of the LE distribution.
What is considered wealthy in the US? ›
According to Schwab's 2023 Modern Wealth Survey, its seventh annual, Americans said it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy.
Does net worth include home? ›
Household wealth or net worth is the value of assets owned by every member of the household minus their debt. The terms are used interchangeably in this report. Assets include owned homes, vehicles, financial accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and more.
What is considered high income? ›
Upper middle class: Anyone with earnings in the 60th to 80th percentile would be considered upper middle class. Those in the upper middle class have incomes between $89,745 and $149,131. Upper class: Finally, the upper class is the top 20% of earners and they have incomes of $149,132 or higher.
Specifically, those with over $1 million in retirement accounts are in the top 3% of retirees. The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) estimates that 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million, and a mere 0.1% have $5 million or more, based on data from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances.
How many people have $2000000 in savings? ›
Per the Federal Reserve about 6% of households have over $2,000,000 in wealth in 2020. What is let like to have a net worth of 2 million dollars? Depending on your lifestyle, not that different from the lives of most people.
What is considered wealthy in retirement? ›
To be considered wealthy at age 65 or older, you need a household net worth of $3.2 million, according to finance expert Geoffrey Schmidt, CPA, who used data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine the household net worth needed at age 65 or older to determine the various percentiles of wealth in ...
How many Americans have $3 million net worth? ›
There are estimated to be a little over 8 million households in the US with a net worth of $3 million or more.
What net worth puts you in the top 5%? ›
The most recent data from the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances took a snapshot of the American public at the end of 2022. At that point, a net worth of $3,795,000 was enough to put you in the top 5% of all American households.
What net worth is upper middle class? ›
Some sources define the upper middle class as anyone making a lot of money but haven't crossed the threshold to become truly wealthy. These individuals often have a net worth of at least $500,000 to $2 million.
What jobs put you in the top 1 percent? ›
The top 1% of earners, then, make almost nine times the median income in the U.S. The people who earn enough to meet this threshold work in a range of industries and include doctors, lawyers, business owners and executives—but this also varies regionally.
How many 25 year olds make 100k? ›
From age 18-24, only 1% of earners (7% altogether) earn $100k per year or more. This makes these age groups by far the lowest earners in the US. Americans make the most income gains between 25 and 35. Only 2% of 25-year-olds make over $100k per year, but this jumps to a considerable 12% by 35.
How many people make 80k a year? ›
Distribution of personal income in 2022 according to US Census data
| Income range | Number of people | Proportion (%) |
|---|
| At or below |
|---|
| $77,500 to $79,999 | 1,795,000 | 78.33 |
| $80,000 to $82,499 | 3,899,000 | 79.96 |
| $82,500 to $84,999 | 1,502,000 | 80.59 |
47 more rowsIncome Brackets in the United States
| Income Bracket* | Percentage of Americans |
|---|
| $75,000-$99,999 | 12.3% |
| $100,000-$149,999 | 16.4% |
| $150,000-$199,999 | 9.2% |
| Over $200,000 | 11.9% |
5 more rowsApr 12, 2024
