Want to be in California’s top 1%? You’ll need one of the nation’s highest incomes. A new study from SmartAsset shows exactly how much money it takes to rank among the top 1% of earners in each state. And in the state of California, households need to earn at least $905,396 per year in order to rank among the elite 1%!
Only Connecticut and Massachusetts rank higher than California with a household income of $1,056,996 and $965,170, respectively. Nationally, there are nearly 1.5 million households that bring in enough money annually to be among the top 1%.
Overall, SmartAsset found that households need to earn $731,000 annually to be in the top 1% of earners nationwide. But that number can vary widely depending on where you live. Differences in cost of living, tax policies, and local economies all play a role in what it takes to join the top 1% in each state.
California Top 1% Income Requirements
SmartAsset’s study found that California has the largest population of top 1% earners, and some of the highest incomes. (A different study found the minimum salary needed to be happy in California to be exactly $143,220.)
- Income floor for top 1% of earners: $905,396
- Number of top 1% returns: 175,045
- Income floor for top 5% of earners: $353,073
- Number of top 5% returns: 875,225
What was the methodology for the study?
To figure out how much income it takes to be in the top 1% in each state, SmartAsset looked at 2022 IRS data for individual tax filers. They then adjusted those numbers for inflation to reflect May 2025 dollars, using data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
You can read SmartAsset’s full study on the top 1% incomes in the United States here.