Are YOU richer than your neighbors? Fascinating study shows the amount needed to be in the top 5% of each state

What it takes to be in the top 5 percent of earners in each state varies widely across the U.S., a groundbreaking new report shows.

Connecticut needs the highest income of any state to reach the top 5 percent, according to a study by GOBankingRates.

Residents will need to earn a pre-tax household income of $602,707 – and almost $170,000 to be in the top 20 percent of earners.

In West Virginia, however, Americans can earn less than $300,000 and still be in the top 5 percent. The minimum income requirement is $299,992, the lowest of any state, according to the study.

And to be in the Mountain State’s richest 20 percent, residents must earn at least $103,135, the data found.

GOBankingRates used IRS data to conduct a study of top income earners broken down by state (figures are formatted to the nearest 100,000)

GOBankingRates analyzed household income data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to find the income threshold (before taxes) needed to be among the top earners by state.

According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, the median household income in the US in 2022 was $74,580.

After Connecticut, the east coast states of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts round out the top four states where households need the highest income to be in the top 5 percent of earners.

New Yorkers must earn at least $574,063, households in New Jersey must earn at least $562,886 and those living in Massachusetts must earn at least $558,616 to meet the threshold.

Next on the list, according to the study, is California, where Americans must earn $555,007 to be in the richest 5 percent.

Connecticut needs the highest income of any state to get into the top 5 percent. Residents must earn a minimum household income of $602,707 (photo: Greenwich, Connecticut)

At the other end of the scale, Mississippi has the second-lowest income threshold for being among the state’s richest 5 percent — at $308,523, GOBankingRates found.

In New Mexico, residents must earn at least $323,568 to be in the top 5 percent of earners, while locals must earn at least $336,788 to be in the top 5 percent in Alabama.

Arkansas rounds out the five states with the lowest minimum household income needed to be in the richest 5 percent — at $344,470 — according to the study.

In West Virginia, Americans can earn less than $300,000 and still reach the top 5 percent (photo: Hawks Nest State Park, West Virginia)

It comes after separate research found that the average net worth of Americans was $1,063,700 last year – after the pandemic boosted savings, pension pots and the price of homes.

This is up 23 percent from 2019, when the average American household had a net worth of $868,000, according to the Federal Reserve’s consumer survey.

Even looking at the median — which represents the midpoint and is less likely to be distorted by extreme numbers at either end of the scale — average U.S. wealth has risen 37 percent over the course of the pandemic.

According to the Federal Reserve’s consumer survey, the average net worth of an American household – adjusted for inflation – was $1,063,700 in 2022

According to the Fed, the average figure increased from $141,100 to $192,900 between 2019 and 2022.

The study highlighted how rising home prices supported increases in both median and average inflation-adjusted wealth.

The conditional average value of total household assets rose 20 percent to $1,194,300.

“These changes were driven by increases in the prices of both financial and nonfinancial assets, particularly stocks and real estate,” the Fed report said.

Between 2019 and 2022, the average value of a primary residence increased 18 percent from $398,900 to $471,000 – more than inflation.