How Much You Need To Be a Top 50% Earner in Every State

It’s a question pondered by most of us at some point: How does my salary stack up against what others are making?

You could rank yourself against your immediate peers, though that information can be tough to come by, and in-office salary talk can be tricky. You might compare yourselves to people in similar roles, to others at your company or to others in your industry. There are numerous online resources, such as Glassdoor, which can help with this.

There are also demographic comparisons. Maybe you’re wondering how well your pay holds up against others in your city or state, or across the nation.

GOBankingRates has sourced data from the American Community Survey — conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau — to help answer part of the question. After gathering median incomes, we compiled a list of just how much you need to make to crack the top half of earners in your state. We’ve also included rankings to show you where your state falls, with the state with the highest required salary No. 1, and the state with the lowest required salary No. 51 (we’ve included Washington, D.C.).

To make the top 50% for the whole nation, you need to pull in $75,150 a year. Here’s the state-by-state breakdown.

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $59,610
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 46^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $86,371
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 13^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $72,582
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 24^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $56,336
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 49^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $91,906
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 6^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $87,599
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 10^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $90,214
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 9^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $79,326
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 17^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $101,723
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 1^st

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $67,918
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 36^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $71,356
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 29^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $94,815
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 5^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $70,215
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 31^st highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $78,434
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 18^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $67,174
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 37^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $70,572
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 30^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $69,748
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 32^nd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $60,184
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 45^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $57,853
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 48^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $68,252
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 35^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $98,462
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 2^nd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $96,506
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 4^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $68,506
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 34^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $84,314
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 14^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $52,986
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 51^st highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $65,921
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 41^st highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $66,342
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 39^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $71,723
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 27^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $71,647
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 28^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $90,846
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 7^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $97,127
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 3^rd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $58,723
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 47^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $81,387
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 15^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $66,187
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 40^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $73,960
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 21^st highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $66,991
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 38^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $61,365
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 44^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $76,633
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 19^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $73,171
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 22^nd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $81,371
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 16^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $63,624
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 43^rd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $69,458
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 33^rd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $64,036
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 42^nd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $73,036
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 23^rd highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $86,834
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 12^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $74,015
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 20^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $87,250
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 11^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $90,326
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 8^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $55,218
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 50^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $72,459
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 26^th highest

• Income needed to be in top 50%: $72,496
• Rank among 50 states + DC: 25^th highest

Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates used the 2022 American Community Survey as conducted by the US Census Bureau to find the median income for each state as well as adding $1 to the median income to find what you would need to be a top 50% earner in each state. All data was collected and is up to date as of April 4, 2024.