According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual wage of the top 1% was $823,763 as of 2020.1 A more recent study by SmartAsset points out that the national average of the top 1% earners is $597,815.2 Have in mind that the figures vary greatly from state to state.
To be in the top percentage of earners in the U.S., you'd need to pull in $758,434 a year, based on recent data. Keep in mind that the average worker in the U.S. earns just $57,535. The top 1% of earners in the U.S. earn more than 19 times more than the bottom 90% of earners, according to one research group.
In fact, the average American household earns a median income of under $70,000, but in some places, the top 1% can earn as much as $955,000. Those annual earnings can seem far out of reach in a country where less than 10% of all households earn more than $200,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ultra high net worth individuals: population of global 1 percent 2021, by country. Over 22 million individuals residing in the United States belonged to the global top one percent of ultra high net worth individuals worldwide in 2021.
Some 11% of Americans will join the Top 1% for at least one year during their prime working lives (age 25 to 60), according to research done by Thomas Hirschl, a sociology professor at Cornell University. But only 5.8% will be in it for two years or more.
Celebrities are not part of the 99 percent. They are not even the 1 percent. In fact, many of them are lower than even the . 01 percent.
From the top 5% to the top 1%
Salaries start to jump significantly the closer you get to the top 1%. You'll start to see dramatic shifts in the top 5%, where the EPI found the average earners significantly increased to $343,000 in 2020, up from $324,000 the year before.
More than 76 percent of Americans get to experience the joys of a six-figure household income for at least one year, just more than half will make $150,000 or more at some point, and about 20 percent hit the $250,000 mark at least once, which these days would put them within the top 2 percent of earners.
Someone in the top 10% has a net worth of $1,219,126, while someone in the top 1% has a net worth of $11,099,166, according to the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances from 2019.
A high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is someone with liquid assets of at least $1 million. These individuals often seek the assistance of financial professionals to manage their money, and their high net worth qualifies them for additional benefits and investing opportunities that are closed to most.
With a $500,000+ income, you are considered rich, wherever you live! According to the IRS, any household who makes over $500,000 a year in 2023 is considered a top 1% income earner. Of course, some parts of the country require a higher income level to be in the top 1% income, e.g. Connecticut at $580,000.
Top 10% income
The average earnings of those in the top 10% were roughly $173,000 in 2020, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Landing in the top 10% is a fairly attainable goal for upwardly mobile Americans.
They found that the top 20% of all Americans earn over $130,000 in income. Thats over 5 times more than the bottom 20%. While that's interesting in and of itself, what even more important is that the top 20% are also receiving over 50% of all the income earned in the country. Now that's BIG.
Mining industry workers are Australia's top earners, with the median employee in the sector taking home $54.90 an hour in 2022, according to the ABS. White-collar workers in the financial services and professional services industries were the next best-paid employees, earning about $50 an hour.
The five highest paying jobs in Australia in 2022 and 2023 are surgeons, anaesthetists, internal medicine specialists, financial dealers and psychiatrists, according to the Hays Recruitment Salary Guide.
Many have graduate degrees with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly exceed $100,000, with some smaller one-income earners household having incomes in the high 5-figure range.
In comparison, fellow 2015 Best Actor Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch and fellow 2016 Best Actor nominee Michael Fassbender both have net worths of $30 million.
There are about 56.1 million millionaires globally.