{"id":258483,"date":"2026-06-07T20:49:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/258483\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T20:49:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:49:20","slug":"the-state-with-the-highest-income-isnt-new-york-or-california-see-the-15-states-where-people-earn-the-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/258483\/","title":{"rendered":"The state with the highest income isn’t New York or California. See the 15 states where people earn the most."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WalletHub ranked states where people have the highest income, using several different measurements.<\/p>\n

Some states with mega-high earners didn’t rank high due their fairly average median incomes.<\/p>\n

California landed outside of the top 10 as many high earners are leaving the state.<\/p>\n

The median income in the US is about $83,000 \u2014 and you could make more or less than that number depending on where you live. But which states are the highest earning overall?<\/p>\n

A new WalletHub study<\/a> used three income-related measures to rank states: the average annual income of the top 5%, the average annual income of the bottom 20%, and the median annual household income of the state’s entire population.<\/p>\n

The resulting rankings include some surprises. None of the states known for being home to billionaires, like New York<\/a>, California, and Florida<\/a>, took the top spot.<\/p>\n

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said New York’s income disparity<\/a> is a reason it came up just short of the No. 1 ranking. While the top 5% makes a lot, the state’s middle class isn’t making nearly as much.<\/p>\n

“In terms of just the median annual income, which I think is what most people are interested in as far as that’s a reflection of the middle class, New York is a little above average in terms of its median annual income at $96,000,” Lupo told Business Insider.<\/p>\n

One state that barely cracked the top 15 is California; a state known for movie stars and moguls. Lupo posited that the Golden State’s lower ranking on the list may have been impacted by several top earners leaving.<\/p>\n

“What’s going on in California also is the number of high-wealth individuals that are fleeing<\/a> the state,” Lupo said. “A lot of wealth is moving out of the state and into more tax-friendly states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. So that’s a huge driver.”<\/p>\n

Read on for the 15 states where people have the highest income, according to WalletHub.<\/p>\n

15. Florida<\/p>\n

\"The Miami.tifonimages\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 49.89<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $507,073<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $75,737<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $16,378<\/p>\n

14. Georgia<\/p>\n

\"The Atlanta.Dan Reynolds Photography\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 52.76<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $516,260<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $72,437<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $17,301<\/p>\n

13. California<\/p>\n

\"Aerial San Francisco.Prasit photo\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 53.45<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $482,584<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $133,974<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $14,662<\/p>\n

12. District of Columbia<\/p>\n

\"An Washington, DC.halbergman\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 54.11<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $488,074<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $174,287<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $9,579<\/p>\n

11. Texas<\/p>\n

\"Regency Dallas.joe daniel price\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 54.93<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $520,378<\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

Median annual income: $75,905<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $17,651<\/p>\n

10. Massachusetts<\/p>\n

\"The Boston.DenisTangneyJr\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 57.11<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $498,062<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $137,563<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $14,440<\/p>\n

9. Illinois<\/p>\n

\"The Chicago.Aerial_Views\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 57.88<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $533,840<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $83,277<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $16,813<\/p>\n

8. Minnesota<\/p>\n

\"The Minneapolis, Minnesota.joe daniel price\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 58.66<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $500,074<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $90,632<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $20,662<\/p>\n

7. Colorado<\/p>\n

\"Aerial Denver, Colorado.Ultima_Gaina\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 59.65<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $498,587<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $106,187<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $19,588<\/p>\n

6. Utah<\/p>\n

\"Aerial Salt Lake City, Utah.Vadym Terelyuk\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 61.24<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $475,515<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $98,858<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $24,307<\/p>\n

5. Connecticut<\/p>\n

\"Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.Sean Pavone\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 64.73<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $543,016<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $122,032<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $15,095<\/p>\n

4. Washington<\/p>\n

\"Seattle Seattle.SCStock\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 65.23<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $522,328<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $112,933<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $19,082<\/p>\n

3. New Jersey<\/p>\n

\"The Jersey City, New Jersey.OlegAlbinsky\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 66.08<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $527,376<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $125,766<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $17,418<\/p>\n

2. New York<\/p>\n

\"Aerial New York.Art Wager\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 66.27<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $585,523<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $96,746<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $13,633<\/p>\n

1. Virginia<\/p>\n

\"The Arlington, Virginia.SeanPavonePhoto\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Total score: 67.57<\/p>\n

Average annual income of top 5%: $545,097<\/p>\n

Median annual income: $95,339<\/p>\n

Average annual income of bottom 20%: $19,671<\/p>\n

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider<\/a> on Yahoo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WalletHub ranked states where people have the highest income, using several different measurements. Some states with mega-high earners…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[91314,100675,100676,9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-258483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-annual-income","tag-average-annual-income","tag-income-disparity","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}