According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 24% of Americans made over $100,000 a year in 2020.

According to IBISWorld, 34.4% of American households will earn more than $100,000 a year in 2022.

Facts About Americans Making over $100,000

Source: PYMNTS and Lending Club, June 2022 Report

42.4% of Americans earning more than $100,000 a year reported living paycheck to paycheck

Of the 42.4% who lived paycheck to paycheck, 23% struggled to pay their bills

33% of Americans earning more than $250,000 a year reported living paycheck to paycheck

Of the 33% who lived paycheck to paycheck, 12.3% struggled to pay their bills

Their average credit score was in the 700s (a credit score is between 300 and 850)

Living paycheck to paycheck means you spend most of what you earn on bills and expenses and have little or nothing left to put towards savings or investments.

Facts About American Households Making over $100,000

Source: IBISWorld

In 2022, 34.4% of households earned more than $100,000 a year

Last year, in 2021, 33.8% of households earned more than $100,000 a year

In 1980 (over 40 years ago) 15.2% of households earned more than $100,000 a year

High-paying jobs in the technology and financial industry contribute to the increase in households earning more than $100,000 a year

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020

What are median weekly earnings?

The median is the midpoint in a range of numbers sorted from lowest to highest (or highest to lowest).

In terms of income, half of Americans earned more than the median weekly earnings and the other half earned less than the median weekly earnings.

Here’s an example, this is a list of 21 sample earnings sorted from lowest to highest. The median (or midpoint) is $40,500. This means that half of the 21 people earned more than $40,500 and the other half earned less than $40,500.

Americans in the Top 1%, 5%, and 10%

Source: Economic Policy Institute

What does it take to be in the Top 1%, 5%, and 10%?

According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), you need to earn at least six figures each year.

Six figures mean you need to earn at least $100,000.

In 2020, here were the average wages of those in the Top 0.1%, 1%, 5%, and 10%:

As you can see from the table above, you have to earn at least 3 million dollars to be in the Top 0.1%.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that the Top 0.1% has become significantly richer than even the Top 1%.

For example, since 1979, wages for the Top 1% grew by 179% while wages for the Top 0.1% grew by 389%. 

The American Middle Class

Source: Pew Research Center

Americans living in middle-class households continue to decline.

In 1971, 61% of Americans lived in middle-class households.

In 2021, only 50% of Americans lived in middle-class households. The median income of middle-class households was $90,131.

One reason Americans living in middle-class households have decreased is that Americans living in upper-income households have increased.

In 1971, 14% of Americans lived in upper-income class households.

In 2021, 21% of Americans lived in upper-middle households. The median income of upper-income households was $219,572.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Economic Class

Source: Pew Research Center

The shortest recession recorded in history occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The recession lasted only three months from February 2020 to April 2020.

Despite the economic uncertainty during the COVID-19 recession, the share of adults living in lower, middle, and upper-income households remained almost unchanged. 

In 2021, here’s the breakdown of adults living in their respective income classes: