Here's how much money you need to earn to be in the top 1% in the US in your 30s

Income inequality has been growing in America for decades.

As the country’s richest get even richer and the share of people below the poverty line increases, America’s middle class has been gradually disappearing.



Consider this chart, which shows the rapid rise.

To create the chart, Business Insider analysed data from the 2015 American Community Survey, an annual survey by the US Census Bureau that interviews about 1% of all US households about various economic, demographic, social, and housing characteristics.

The resulting breakdown shows that median incomes grow by just $US10,000 (or 25%) between 30- and 39-year-olds, while top-1% income jumps from $US173,000 to $US419,000 over the same age range. That’s a 142% increase.

The increases among people in their 30s are much greater than people in their mid- to late-20s. Someone who’s 25 needs an income of $US116,000 to be in the top 1%. A 29-year-old needs to make $US160,000.

This approach has its limits. Surveys like the ACS don’t capture everyone at the top, like celebrities and financiers, and some researchers prefer to use alternate forms of data, such as tax records, when studying those at the top of the income and wealth distributions.


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