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How Much You Need To Be ‘Rich’ in 20 Major Vacation Destinations
Written by
J. Arky
Edited by
Ashleigh Ray

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Whether your ideal vacation is sunbathing on white sandy beaches or setting up a tent in the mountainous backcountry, there’s a vacation out there for you. But if you opt for a popular vacation destination, you’re likely to see locals as well as visitors from far and wide.
This scenario inevitably leads to people playing the comparison game. Even if we try not to, we sometimes can’t help but pay attention to the clothes other people wear or the cars they drive. One reason we do this may be to compare ourselves to other people at our beloved vacation destination — and to guess whether we are “rich” by comparison.
To find how much you will need to be rich in 20 major vacation destinations, GOBankingRates analyzed major vacation destinations and found the income level for the top 20% and top 5% for each city.
Sedona, Arizona
- Mean income of the top 20%: $241,250
- Mean income of the top 5%: $420,024
Lake Tahoe, California
- Mean income of the top 20%: $254,543
- Mean income of the top 5%: $527,512
Los Angeles
- Mean income of the top 20%: $296,019
- Mean income of the top 5%: $566,191
San Diego
- Mean income of the top 20%: $303,246
- Mean income of the top 5%: $525,573
Aspen, Colorado
- Mean income of the top 20%: $623,763
- Mean income of the top 5%: $1,283,274
Washington, D.C.
- Mean income of the top 20%: $375,792
- Mean income of the top 5%: $670,768
Key West, Florida
- Mean income of the top 20%: $324,870
- Mean income of the top 5%: $675,592
Miami
- Mean income of the top 20%: $234,828
- Mean income of the top 5%: $470,635
Orlando, Florida
- Mean income of the top 20%: $237,863
- Mean income of the top 5%: $445,281
Savannah, Georgia
- Mean income of the top 20%: $180,371
- Mean income of the top 5%: $326,083
Honolulu
- Mean income of the top 20%: $268,129
- Mean income of the top 5%: $472,309
Chicago
- Mean income of the top 20%: $278,653
- Mean income of the top 5%: $529,371
New Orleans
- Mean income of the top 20%: $225,214
- Mean income of the top 5%: $431,224
Boston
- Mean income of the top 20%: $334,305
- Mean income of the top 5%: $620,572
Asheville, North Carolina
- Mean income of the top 20%: $211,142
- Mean income of the top 5%: $355,139
Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Mean income of the top 20%: $226,087
- Mean income of the top 5%: $418,555
Las Vegas
- Mean income of the top 20%: $222,319
- Mean income of the top 5%: $414,759
New York City
- Mean income of the top 20%: $324,977
- Mean income of the top 5%: $642,762
Charleston, South Carolina
- Mean income of the top 20%: $299,980
- Mean income of the top 5%: $578,625
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Mean income of the top 20%: $294,602
- Mean income of the top 5%: $573,100
Methodology: To find how much you will need to be rich in major vacation destinations, GOBankingRates analyzed major vacation destinations as sourced from USNews & World Reports – Best Places To Visit in the USA in 2023. For each city, GOBankingRates analyzed the mean income to be in the top 20% and top 5% for each city, as sourced from the US Census American Community Survey. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Nov. 2, 2023.
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