LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — What does it take to join the 1% club? It depends on where you live.
According to the personal finance website SmartAsset.com, the top 1% of earners can be found in the coastal states — both East and West Coasts — where major cities are located.
At the top of the scale, you’ll find the highest thresholds for one-percenters in the Northeast, with Connecticut ($896,490), Massachusetts ($810,256), New York ($777,126) and New Jersey ($760,462) in the lead. Rounding out the top five is California, where a resident would need a minimum income of $745,314 to be considered among the top 1% of earners.
The study is based on IRS income data from 2018, with numbers adjusted to 2021 dollars using the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bottom five on the list include West Virginia ($350,212), Mississippi ($361,462), New Mexico ($384,427), Arkansas ($411,633) and Kentucky ($412,836).
Nationwide, the top 1% earns double that of the top 5%. The minimum income level required to join the top 1% of earners in the country as a whole ($597,815) is 2.48 times higher than the threshold needed to make it into the top 5% of earners nationwide ($240,712), according to the findings.
But how much in taxes do the top-earners pay?
Top earners pay a share of at least 25% of the total income tax in their states. Nevada's one-percenters pay the highest total income tax share — 50.1% — of all 50 states. Nationally, the top 1% of earners contribute to 35.79% of all individual income taxes paid.