Here’s how much you have to earn to be in the top 1% in NJ

Most people aspire to make more money than they currently do; they want to be rich. But what constitutes rich? It turns out that it matters where you live.

A site called Smart Asset looked at IRS data and census information to determine who are the top 1% of earners. Why is that important? Because wealth is becoming more concentrated: the top 1% of families hold over a third of the total wealth in the U.S. – up from 27% in 1989 – according to a Congressional Budget Office report from 2022. The bottom half of all households, meanwhile, control just 2% of the total wealth.

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But who’s in this group of ultra-wealthy taxpayers? Nationally, households that make $652,657 are considered among the top 1%. They earn more than eight times as much as the median household, which sits around $75,000. But you need to earn more than that to be in the top 1% in New Jersey.

New Jersey has the fourth highest floor to be in the top 1% at $817,346. That trails Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California. (If Washington, DC were a state, it would have the highest floor at over $1 million).

About New Jersey, Smart Asset says:

In the Garden State, you’ll need an annual household income of $817,346 to be in the top 1%. Taxpayers at the very top of the income ladder pay an average effective tax rate of 28.01% – third highest across our study. Meanwhile, New Jersey also has the second-highest floor for the top 5% – $333,114.

So, now you know what it takes to be rich, really rich, in New Jersey.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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