Here's how much money it takes to be 'rich' in NY, NJ, CT for 2024 (2024)

FAQs

What net worth is considered wealthy in 2024? ›

To be considered very high net worth, one might need assets ranging from $5 million to $10 million, while an ultra-high net worth status could require $30 million or more. These figures underscore the subjective nature of financial classifications across different thresholds of wealth.

Test 2: Comparing your income

For example, you may be considered rich if you're in the nation's top 1% of earners. In 2022, that group saw an average annual income from wages of $785,968—nearly 19 times higher than the bottom 90%, according to the Economic Policy Institute Open in new tab.

Maryland, Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, and Washington all have cutoffs in the range of $180,000 to $190,000 per household.

While there's no definitive line, households in the top 20% of earners are generally considered upper class. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in 2022 was $74,580. To reach the upper class in 2024, you'd typically need an income exceeding $153,000 – more than double the national median.

Your household would need to earn at least $64,224 to be considered middle class in the Garden State, and earning more than $192,692 would put you in the upper class.

For over a decade, Connecticut had the highest average income per resident across the country. But at the end of 2020, Massachusetts inched to the top and has left Connecticut in the runner-up spot for the last three years, according to quarterly data released last month by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing salaries as high as $118,073 and as low as $21,865, the majority of salaries within the Upper Class jobs category currently range between $42,637 (25th percentile) to $74,342 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $94,021 annually in New York.

Schwab's 2022 Modern Wealth Survey, which surveyed 1,000 Americans ages 21 to 75, revealed that it takes a net worth of $2.2 million to be considered wealthy. This $2.2 million figure is, again, highly subjective. The average net worth of U.S. households is $121,760.

Right behind New York is Connecticut and Virginia where the average is about $518,000 apiece. Followed by New Jersey and Illinois which are both hovering around $505,000. The state with the lowest top 5% threshold is Alaska, where earning roughly $321,000 will get you into the club.

How many people make 100k in NJ? ›

New Jersey ranked 5th overall, where you need to earn $1,010,101 to be a part of the top 1%.

What is the average middle class income? In 2024, a large U.S. city's middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000, with the median household income across all 345 cities at $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590, SmartAsset noted.

According to Schwab's Modern Wealth Survey, Americans said last year that it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy. (Net worth is the sum of your assets minus your liabilities.)

The upper class has an average net worth of $793,120 to $2.65 million, while the lower class has $16,900. The middle class ranges from $58,550 to $300,800. You can grow your net worth by saving and investing consistently, investing in the stock market, and being careful about taking on debt.

If you wanted to be in the top 5% of households at that point, you would need a net worth of $3,795,000. As you might expect, though, you don't need as much to reach the top 5% of younger households. Meanwhile, you would need much more to make it into the top 5% for older households.

Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million. Therefore, about 2% of the population possesses enough wealth to meet the current definition of being rich.

Typically, a high-net-worth individual has assets of between $1 million and $5 million. Those with multi-million dollar fortunes, generally assets of at least $30 million, are sometimes identified as ultra-HNWI (UHNWI). The term “net worth” factors in liquid or investable assets.

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​​.