The exact amount you need to earn to be part of New York’s ultra-rich club has been revealed: it’s 7 times the average salary.
If you’re trying to make it in one of the world’s largest cities, you might be faced with two financial realities: those who are capable of creating wealth and those who are just getting by.
In New York, the conflicting nature of these two economies could not be more evident. A new analysis from GoBankingRates just found that to be among the city’s richest five percent, households need to bring in $619,178 per year,
In comparison, the average household income in the Big Apple earns just $84,578; They will need to earn more than seven times that amount to be among the highest-paid households.
Earning over $80,000 may seem like a promising salary to some, but the salary would struggle to keep up with the cost of living for New Yorkers. For example, the average studio is estimated to cost $3,795 per month, according to Zumper data. That’s $45,540 per year, meaning rent alone would be about 54% of gross income, well above the standard affordability threshold of 30%.
West Virginia households have the lowest income requirements to be in the top 5%
Although New York requires its richest earners to earn more than seven times the average wage, that’s not the highest salary on the list.
In Connecticut, households would have to earn $637,673 to rank among the top five percent. By comparison, the average median household income is about $93,760, or 580 percent more (or nearly seven times more) than what it takes to be among the top five percent.
This is followed by California ($619,938), Massachusetts ($691,385), New York ($619,178) and New Jersey ($616,334).
West Virginia was the state offering the easiest path to the ultra-wealthy club, with an income requirement of $330,270. On average, the median household income is $57,917.
Unlike New York, housing costs are about 27% lower than the national average, according to RentCafe data, although wages are below the national average.
The growing wealth gap: 20% of households control more than 70% of American wealth
Yet even as some states set the bar lower for the ultra-rich, wealth itself is becoming increasingly concentrated, leaving most Americans further behind.
The richest 1% hold almost a quarter of the country’s wealth, almost three times more than that of the entire middle class. In total, the richest 20% of households control more than 70% of American wealth, leaving the bottom 20% less than 30%.
Right now, reaching the top 1% in America means earning an adjusted gross income of at least $561,523. The threshold drops to $169,466 for the top five percent and $99,971 for the top 10 percent. As a reminder, the average American household earned about $83,730 in 2024, less than 15% of what it takes to reach the top.
Are you in the top five percent and live in one of the states listed? Fortune wants to hear from you. Email: jessica.coacci@fortune.com
