The life of the average American varies from city to city in the United States and that is because of the varied cultures of the regions, environment and the cost of living. In some areas, cowboy boots are the norm. In others, you’d look out of place in them. And when it comes to money, a salary in the high five figures makes you “rich” in one part of the country but it can be hard to scrape by on that in other locales.
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So just what does it take to be considered “rich” in the various corners of the country? The difference is vast among the 25 most populated cities in the United States.
To highlight just how big those differences are, GOBankingRates identified those 25 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%.
25. Detroit
Population: 672,351
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $70,445
Average Income of the Top 20%: $122,571
Average Income of the Top 5%: $212,891
24. Memphis, Tennessee
Population: 650,910
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $88,188
Average Income of the Top 20%: $179,830
Average Income of the Top 5%: $357,964
23. El Paso, Texas
Population: 679,879
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $98,356
Average Income of the Top 20%: $166,336
Average Income of the Top 5%: $289,479
22. Indianapolis
Population: 869,387
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $102,307
Average Income of the Top 20%: $185,488
Average Income of the Top 5%: $339,007
21. Columbus, Ohio
Population: 889,079
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $104,414
Average Income of the Top 20%: $167,428
Average Income of the Top 5%: $277,362
20. San Antonio
Population: 1,529,133
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $105,187
Average Income of the Top 20%: $179,594
Average Income of the Top 5%: $309,579
19. Philadelphia
Population: 1,581,531
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $105,619
Average Income of the Top 20%: $196,218
Average Income of the Top 5%: $357,577
18. Jacksonville, Florida
Population: 902,488
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $107,413
Average Income of the Top 20%: $190,971
Average Income of the Top 5%: $348,332
17. Dallas
Population: 1,338,846
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $117,373
Average Income of the Top 20%: $249,690
Average Income of the Top 5%: $493,848
16. Houston
Population: 2,313,238
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $118,212
Average Income of the Top 20%: $243,777
Average Income of the Top 5%: $470,182
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15. Nashville, Tennessee
Population: 667,070
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $119,283
Average Income of the Top 20%: $219,061
Average Income of the Top 5%: $406,865
14. Phoenix
Population: 1,658,422
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $119,571
Average Income of the Top 20%: $218,693
Average Income of the Top 5%: $396,723
13. Fort Worth, Texas
Population: 892,221
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $123,686
Average Income of the Top 20%: $204,381
Average Income of the Top 5%: $350,555
12. Charlotte, North Carolina
Population: 873,570
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $132,471
Average Income of the Top 20%: $264,995
Average Income of the Top 5%: $513,371
11. Chicago
Population: 2,699,347
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $135,973
Average Income of the Top 20%: $262,070
Average Income of the Top 5%: $497,192
10. Los Angeles
Population: 3,973,278
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $141,990
Average Income of the Top 20%: $280,645
Average Income of the Top 5%: $538,703
9. Austin, Texas
Population: 965,872
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $149,503
Average Income of the Top 20%: $269,753
Average Income of the Top 5%: $487,862
8. Denver
Population: 715,878
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $150,375
Average Income of the Top 20%: $277,734
Average Income of the Top 5%: $512,101
7. New York
Population: 8,379,552
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $150,422
Average Income of the Top 20%: $306,068
Average Income of the Top 5%: $605,410
6. San Diego
Population: 1,414,545
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $163,046
Average Income of the Top 20%: $285,383
Average Income of the Top 5%: $497,741
5. Boston
Population: 689,326
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $167,096
Average Income of the Top 20%: $312,343
Average Income of the Top 5%: $581,901
4. Seattle
Population: 741,251
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $197,129
Average Income of the Top 20%: $345,093
Average Income of the Top 5%: $604,519
3. Washington, D.C.
Population: 701,974
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $198,674
Average Income of the Top 20%: $363,219
Average Income of the Top 5%: $651,989
2. San Jose, California
Population: 1,029,409
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $226,099
Average Income of the Top 20%: $361,269
Average Income of the Top 5%: $582,798
1. San Francisco
Population: 874,784
Lowest Income to be Considered “Rich” (Top 20%): $250,001
Average Income of the Top 20%: $443,810
Average Income of the Top 5%: $770,722
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Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates used American Community Survey data from the United States Census Bureau to first find the 25 largest cities in terms of total population. With these 25 cities isolated, GOBankingRates then used 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 April 19, 2022.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much You Need To Be ‘Rich’ in 25 Major US Cities
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