How Much You Need To Be ‘Rich’ in 10 Major US Cities in 2023

The lifestyle of the average resident of the United States varies from city to city because of factors that include differences in a region’s established culture and economy, as well as the cost of living. Your money goes a lot farther in some areas of the country, but one thing is certain. In the most-populated cities in the United States, to be considered “rich,” you’ve got to earn at least six figures per year.

And that probably shouldn’t be a surprise, given the economic turmoil of 2022. Inflation rose by 7.1% over the 12 months ending November 2022, which actually was down 2% from the year high of 9.1% in June. With the prices of everything from rent to groceries rising last year, the number to be rich went up, too.

To dig deeper into the numbers, GOBankingRates identified the 10 biggest cities through statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and then used data from the American Community Survey to determine the lowest income to be considered in the top 20% richest income bracket, the average income of the richest 20%, and the average income of the richest 5%.

So just what is the dollar figure needed to be thought of as rich in the various corners of the country? The difference is vast among the 10 most populated cities in the United States.

• Population: 1,451,863
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $109,222
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $185,311
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $318,132

• Population: 1,576,251
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $116,950
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $208,414
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $366,404

• Population: 2,287,047
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $121,394
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $254,774
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $495,101

• Population: 1,288,441
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $124,348
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $259,361
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $501,870

• Population: 1,624,539
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $131,343
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $237,565
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $428,606

• Population: 2,696,561
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $143,570
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $282,491
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $532,491

• Population: 3,849,306
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $152,113
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $292,066
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $547,087

• Population: 8,467,513
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $153,360
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $308,049
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $593,822

• Population: 1,381,600
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $181,676
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $311,123
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $538,266

• Population: 983,530
• Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $250,001
• Average Income of the Top 20%: $424,171
• Average Income of the Top 5%: $682,216

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Bob Haegele contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates used 2021 American Community Survey data from the United States Census Bureau to first find the 10 largest cities in terms of total population. With these 10 cities isolated, GOBankingRates then used 2021 American Community Survey income quintile data to find each city’s: (1) lowest income to be considered in the top 20% richest income bracket; (2) the average income of the richest 20%; and (3) the average income of the richest 5%. Only factor (1) was considered in final rankings. All data was collected and is up to date as of Nov. 17, 2022.