I think we've all dreamed about being rich at some point in our lives (or every single day), but what does rich really mean?

24/7 Wall Street recently published an article titled, "The Income It Takes To Be Rich In Every State." The company used the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey to put together their article.

Here in Iowa, the annual household income you would need to make to be in the top 20% of earners is around $122,401. That amount is the 16th lowest in the country! To be in the top 5% of earners, your minimum household income would have to be $217,941, which is the 14th lowest.

The study also looked at the median household income in Iowa, and it came out to around $65,600, the 21st lowest in the U.S. The good news is, the cost of living in Iowa is 9% lower than the U.S. average.

If you're wondering which states have the highest minimum income to be in the top 5% of earners, it's Hawaii, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Alaska . You would have to make $250,000+ annually to be considered "rich" in any of those states. To be in the top 20% of earners, the three states with the highest income are:

  1. Massachusetts - $183,246
  2. New Jersey - $181,484
  3. Maryland - $174,375

On the other hand, the three states with the lowest income to be in the top 5% of earners are:

  1. Mississippi - $175,449
  2. West Virginia - $190,411
  3. Arkansas - $196,214

You can check out the rest of the results of the study from 24/7 Wall Street HERE.

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