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How the Definition of Rich Has Changed in the Western States

January 10, 2025

3 min Read

Written by T. Woods

Edited by Chris Cluff

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Wealth can truly grow and change over the course of a decade in America, and what is considered “rich” one year can seem far less wealthy 10 years later. Thanks to private sector growth, inflation and a complex myriad of factors relating to geography, politics and the economy, a top 5% income in one state can nearly double in a single decade.

GOBankingRates recently gathered a great deal of data regarding the average incomes of those who are the wealthiest 5% of America and broke the information down state by state, finding just how much has changed from 2013 to 2023. For instance, in 2013, the average income for someone in the top 5% of Washington was $317,396 yearly. A decade later, that average increased by 81% to a yearly income of $574,868. That’s a stunning rate of growth.

See how the definition of rich has changed across all of the Western states over the past decade.

Washington

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 81.1%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $574,868
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $317,396

Idaho

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 81%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $431,824
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $238,635

Montana

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 72.9%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $430,052
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $248,674

Nevada

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 60.8%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $470,305
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $292,549

Oregon

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 68.5%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $470,649
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $279,406

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Utah

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 66.4%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $483,169
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $290,362

California

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 67.2%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $638,872
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $382,092

Arizona

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 62.5%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $461,363
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $283,876

Colorado

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 61.4%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $538,026
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $333,330

Hawaii

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 62.8%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $526,148
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $323,169

Wyoming

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 60.8%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $417,388
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $259,500

Alaska

10-Year Change (%) in Average Income of Top 5%: 39.9%
2023 Average Income of Top 5%: $445,464
2013 Average Income of Top 5%: $318,447

Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates used the 2013, 2018 and 2023 American Community Surveys as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau to find every state’s (1) median incomes, (2) average income of the top 20% earners and (3) average income of the top 5% earners. GOBankingRates then found the 10-year change in average income of the top 5% of earners. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Dec. 18, 2024.

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