What US states have the highest income earners?
According to a report, these are the states in the country where the highest income earners can be found in 2024. Find out if your state is one of them.
WalletHub has released its report on the states in the country with the highest income earners in 2024. While the annual income of an average American is around $74,600 according to figures from the Federal Reserve, the analysis of the finance website demonstrates a great disparity in income.
Some states are well above the national average, while others, unfortunately, are well below it. The gap between high earners and low earners is wide even within states.
To determine which states have the highest incomes, the website compared the average annual income of the top 5%, the average of the bottom 20%, and the median of all residents of the 50 states of the country and the District of Columbia. This resulted in a list with the salary differences among all states.
“The highest 10% of people in the United States earn more than 12 times more than those in the lowest 10%, according to the latest census data. By measuring income at various percentiles relative to a state’s median income, we can better identify where income disparities are most prevalent, which could help us better understand why residents of certain states have a harder time making ends meet,” says Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst.
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In which states do people have the highest incomes in 2024?
According to WalletHub analysis, Virginia ranks as the state with the highest income earners in 2024 with the top 5% annual income at $518,296, the middle at $89,393 and the bottom 20% at $18,694. This is what the top five states with the highest incomes look like in 2024. Note the big discrepancies between the incomes of the top 5% and the bottom 20%.
Virginia
- Average annual income of top 5%: $518,296
- Average annual income: $89,393
- Average annual income of bottom 20%: $18,694
New Jersey
- Average annual income of top 5%: $505,621
- Average annual income: $117,847
- Average annual income of bottom 20%: $16,445
New York
- Average annual income of top 5%: $553,436
- Average annual income: $91,366
- Average annual income of bottom 20%: $13,301
Connecticut
- Average annual income of top 5%: $518,757
- Average annual income: $114,156
- Average annual income of bottom 20%: $14,576
Washington
- Average annual income of top 5%: $474,067
- Average annual income: $103,748
- Average annual income of bottom 20%: $18,223