How Much You Needed to Earn to Be in the Wealthy Elite

A small minority of the American population has always held a disproportionate amount of resources and wealth. These are the wealthy elite.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we pinpointed the mean income the top 5 percent of households earned over the last 50 years to give you an idea of how much the wealthy elite earned throughout the years. But, of course, it’s possible you could earn less than the mean income among the top 5 percent and still be in the “wealthy elite.”

We’ve also included other interesting financial facts throughout the years — such as unemployment rates, changes to the minimum wage, gas prices and other shifting economic forces — to paint a picture of the evolving financial landscape. Click through to see photos that represent the financial landscape, important economic milestones and members of the wealthy elite throughout the years.

• 1967 mean household income received by top 5%: $28,110
• 1968 mean household income received by top 5%: $28,461

Can you believe that in 1967, the median income for all households was $7,200? And the minimum wage was a paltry $1.40. Meanwhile, the wealthy elite earned an average of $28,110 — or $174,471 in 2015 dollars.

Although the top 5 percent of households were earning just under $30,000 a year in 1968, minimum wage workers were earning $1.60 per hour — a 20-cent increase from the year before.

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• 1969 mean household income received by top 5%: $31,585
• 1970 mean household income received by top 5%: $33,281

Here’s an interesting fact about money back in 1969: This was the year that America “downsized” its money. The government stopped issuing the largest-denomination bills ever circulated to the public: the $10,000, $5,000, $1,000 and $500 bills.

• 1971 mean household income received by top 5%: $34,638
• 1972 mean household income received by top 5%: $38,447

From 1965 to 1982, the U.S. experienced the Great Inflation, according to the Federal Reserve. During this period, inflation skyrocketed, reaching more than 14 percent in 1980. In an attempt to corral the ongoing Great Inflation, President Richard Nixon stopped foreign central banks from converting U.S. dollars into gold, and implemented price and wage control in 1971.

Although some of today’s housing prices might seem affordable, imagine if you could take your money and travel back in time. In May 1972, the median sales price of a new home was $27,000, according to the Census Bureau. Meanwhile, gas was only 36 cents per gallon, according to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

• 1973 mean household income received by top 5%: $41,516
• 1974 mean household income received by top 5%: $43,355

In 1973, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) launched an oil embargo against the United States in response to its support of Israel during the Arab-Israeli War, according to the Office of the Historian. This action would eventually burden America with long lines at the pump and increased oil prices. During this year, gas prices reached 39 cents.

The top 5 percent of households saw an increase in mean income in 1974. The cost of gas also rose to 53 cents per gallon. The minimum wage also increased in 1974, from $1.60 to $2.

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• 1975 mean household income received by top 5%: $45,644
• 1976 mean household income received by top 5%: $49,700

The average sales price of a new home in January 1975 was only $39,500, according to the Census Bureau. Income continued to increase for the top 5 percent of households in the U.S. And on Jan. 1, 1975, the federal minimum wage jumped from $2 to $2.10.

By 1976, the top 5 percent of households earned a mean income of nearly $50,000, or $188,310 in 2015 dollars. But the average household was making much less at $14,922. The median household income was even lower at $12,686.

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• 1977 mean household income received by top 5%: $54,277
• 1978 mean household income received by top 5%: $59,486

Prices jumped 6.5 percent from 1976 to 1977. As a result, the median household income was around $13,570 in 1977 — an increase of 7 percent from 1976, according to Census Bureau records released in 1978. In 1978, the minimum wage was $2.65.

• 1979 mean household income received by top 5%: $65,984
• 1980 mean household income received by top 5%: $69,484

By 1979, members of the wealthy elite were making over $65,000 — or $201,012 in 2015 dollars — on average. The average American household was making only about a third of that amount. The mean household income in 1979 was $19,554.

On Dec. 19, 1980, the U.S. prime rate hit its all-time high at a whopping 21.5 percent. The prime rate is the rate lenders use to determine the rates they offer borrowers.

• 1981 mean household income received by top 5%: $75,144
• 1982 mean household income received by top 5%: $82,697

From July 1981 to November 1982, the country experienced a recession. With high unemployment rates, it was one of the worst economic downturns in U.S. history, according to the Federal Reserve.

U.S. households in the top 5 percent broke the $80,000 mark in 1982. Also in 1982, gas prices fell $1.22, a slight decline from the prior year.

• 1983 mean household income received by top 5%: $87,359
• 1984 mean household income received by top 5%: $93,774

From late 1982 to 1983, the country saw some of its highest unemployment rates. In January 1983, the unemployment rate hit 10.4 percent. But a few months before then — from November to December — it was even higher at 10.8 percent.

By 1984, the average household representing America’s elite 5 percent earned just under $94,000. That’s almost equal to the average cost of a new home in the early part of the same year.

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• 1985 mean household income received by top 5%: $102,354
• 1986 mean household income received by top 5%: $111,024

In 1985, the average household from the country’s top 5 percent broke the six-figure ceiling for the first time in history.

By August 1986, the prime rate dropped to 7.50 percent. The rate hadn’t been that low since the late ’70s. This was also the year of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which decreased the top tax rate from 50 percent to 28 percent and raised the bottom tax rate from 11 percent to 15 percent.

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• 1987 mean household income received by top 5%: $118,000
• 1988 mean household income received by top 5%: $124,215

Earning nearly $120,000 (or $235,594 in 2015 dollars), the top 5 percent of households could’ve easily bought a new home in 1987. In the first month of the year, the average sales price of a new home was $122,100. The median price, however, was a more affordable $98,500, according to the Census Bureau.

In 1988, the year started with the prime interest rate at 8.5 percent. But by the end of the year, the prime rate had jumped to 10.5 percent, which likely made it more difficult for some people to snag attractive rates on loans.

• 1989 mean household income received by top 5%: $138,185
• 1990 mean household income received by top 5%: $138,756

The top 5 percent of U.S. households earned $138,185 (or $255,122 in 2015 dollars) on average. Meanwhile, the median and mean incomes among all households were $28,906 and $36,520, respectively.

While wealthy households were earning more than $138,00 in 1990, the lowest fifth of households only made $7,166. Workers saw a slight increase in minimum wage, which crept up to $3.80. Previously, it had been stuck at $3.35 since 1981.

• 1991 mean household income received by top 5%: $137,530
• 1992 mean household income received by top 5%: $144,608

In 1991, the top 5 percent of households actually saw a small dip in their wealth, which was more than $138,000 in the previous year. Meanwhile, workers saw a rise in the minimum wage, which reached $4.25.

General Motors was the biggest company by revenue in the country in 1992, according to Fortune 500 data. Exxon Mobil was second and Ford was third. Apple was listed at No. 81. Imagine how much money you would’ve made if you invested in these companies years ago.

• 1993 mean household income received by top 5%: $173,784
• 1994 mean household income received by top 5%: $183,044

In 1993, gas prices were a forgiving $1.11. When adjusted for inflation, that’s the equivalent of $1.68 in 2015 dollars. Meanwhile, the top 5 percent of households saw a huge increase in mean income — nearly a $30,000 increase from 1992.

By April 1994, the average sales price of a new home was $152,900, according to the Census Bureau. That’s about $30,000 less than the annual mean income earned by the typical household in the elite top 5 percent.

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• 1995 mean household income received by top 5%: $188,828
• 1996 mean household income received by top 5%: $201,220

January 1995 housing prices stood at an average of $147,400. Meanwhile, the cost of gas was $1.15, and the median household income was $34,076 — a 2.7 percent increase from 1994. This was the first time in six years the U.S. household saw a yearly increase in real median income, according to the Census Bureau.

The minimum wage increased to $4.75 for all covered and nonexempt workers in 1996. The median and mean household incomes increased as well to $35,492 and $47,123, respectively.

• 1997 mean household income received by top 5%: $215,436
• 1998 mean household income received by top 5%: $222,283

By 1997, the minimum wage broke the $5 mark for the first time. From then on, no workers would be paid less than $5.15 an hour. While the median household income hit $38,885 in 1998, the top 5 percent of households earned more than $220,000 in income. In 2015 dollars, that figure comes out to $323,034.

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• 1999 mean household income received by top 5%: $235,077
• 2000 mean household income received by top 5%: $252,400

As incomes continued to increase, the median household income stood at $40,696 and the mean income reached $54,737. The top 5 percent of mean household incomes reached $235,077 — nearly a $13,000 increase from the year before.

When we reached the new millennium, the dawn of the digital age had created a stock market bubble based on rapidly emerging tech stocks. In March 2000, NASDAQ saw a loss of nearly $1 trillion in stock value in less than a month, reported TIME.

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• 2001 mean household income received by top 5%: $260,464
• 2002 mean household income received by top 5%: $251,010

In 2001, the World Trade Center towers were attacked. The attacks impacted the economy as a whole, and the stock market was no exception. At the time, CNN Money reported stocks fell to their lowest levels in nearly three years. In fact, the Dow Jones industrial average had “its worst point-loss in history” in mid-September of that year.

By 2002, the richest and poorest households experienced a drop in income. From 2001 to 2002, the top 5 percent saw a dip of nearly $9,500. Meanwhile, the mean household income among the lowest fifth fell about $150.

• 2003 mean household income received by top 5%: $253,239
• 2004 mean household income received by top 5%: $263,896

By June 2003, the prime rate had fallen to 4 percent. The rate hadn’t been that low since 1958, and would not be again until late 2008. Meanwhile, the top 5 percent and lowest fifth of U.S. households saw a slight increase in incomes. This is also the year the War in Iraq began.

The average household in 2004 earned $60,466 (mean), according to Census Bureau records. Meanwhile, the typical household in the top 5 percent pulled in more than four times that amount.

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• 2005 mean household income received by top 5%: $281,155
• 2006 mean household income received by top 5%: $297,405

In 2005, the mean household income received by the top 5 percent jumped more than $17,000 since 2004. But among all U.S. households, the mean income increased by less than $3,000.

Home prices in 2006 peaked as the nation was swept up in a housing boom. For example, in August 2006, the average sales price of a new home was $317,300. By January 2009, that number fell to less than $250,000, according to Census Bureau data. The bubble burst soon after.

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• 2007 mean household income received by top 5%: $287,191
• 2008 mean household income received by top 5%: $294,709

In 2007, the federal minimum wage jumped to $5.85. Before that, it had remained at $5.15 for 10 years, since 1997. But an increase in the minimum wage likely didn’t mean much to you if you were an investor losing money — or a homeowner losing their home. This period in history is known as the subprime mortgage crisis.

Still, household incomes continued to increase. From 2007 to 2008, the top 5 percent saw an increase of about $7,500 in income. And the mean household income increased slightly from $67,609 to $68,424.

• 2009 mean household income received by top 5%: $295,388
• 2010 mean household income received by top 5%: $287,201

At the beginning of the year, the nation was still dealing with the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. But according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Great Recession — which began in December 2007 — came to an end by June 2009.

As the markets began their recovery following the financial crisis, incomes took a small hit. The mean household income fell from $67,976 in 2009 to $67,392 in 2010. The U.S. also saw a rise in unemployment. By January 2010, the unemployment rate had climbed to 9.8 percent — nearly double the jobless rate from just two years before.

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• 2011 mean household income received by top 5%: $311,444
• 2012 mean household income received by top 5%: $318,052

In 2011, Americans began to voice their frustrations with the large wealth gap between the super rich — also known as the “1 percent” — and everyone else. Across the country, people protested and blamed Wall Street, major banks and corporations for the economic downturn. Meanwhile, the top 5 percent of households continued to see a rise in income.

By 2012, the unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent in September for the first time since January 2009. After bottoming out in 2012, U.S. home values began to slowly increase.

• 2013 mean household income received by top 5%: $322,343
• 2014 mean household income received by top 5%: $332,347

In 2013, the median household income was $51,939, and the mean income was $72,641. The typical household in the elite 5 percent, however, made more than six and four times those amounts, respectively.

By January 2014, the unemployment rate hovered at 6.6 percent but dropped to 5.6 percent by December. Meanwhile, the price of a gallon of gas was $3.37. Also, Bill Gates was the richest person in America, according to Forbes.

• 2015 mean household income received by top 5%: $350,870

By 2015, the mean household income among the top 5 percent had skyrocketed past $350,000 a year. That represents an increase of about 101 percent (in 2015 dollars) since 1967.

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Sources: All household income data and related adjusted dollar figures (2015 dollars) come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Mean Household Income Received by Each Fifth and Top 5 Percent, All Races: 1967 to 2015”
and “Regions-by Median and Mean Income” historical income tables.