November 25, 2025

Income Needed to Join the Top 1% by State (2025)

The amount of money you need to be among the top 1% of earners in the U.S. in 2025 depends a lot on where you live. Tennessee falls around the middle compared to other states. Even so, joining the top 1% in Tennessee still means earning a very high income, giving us insight into the state’s changing economy.

National picture vs. Tennessee

Across the country, most households need to earn a lot—often close to $750,000 or more—to reach the top 1%. While Tennessee’s threshold isn’t as high as those in expensive coastal states, it’s still much higher than what most families make, showing a big gap between regular people and the state’s wealthiest.

In 2025, you’d need to make just over $535,000 a year to be in Tennessee’s top 1%. This puts the state in the middle compared to others. Only a small number of households make this much, mostly in cities like Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville.

Tennessee’s place among the states

Tennessee’s top 1% threshold is much lower than in wealthy states like Connecticut, New York, and California, where you often need $800,000 or even close to $1 million to qualify.
But it’s still higher than in lower-income states like West Virginia and Mississippi, highlighting Tennessee’s stronger job growth and economic expansion in recent years.

Since Tennessee doesn’t tax wages and salaries, high earners get to keep more of what they make than people in high-tax states. This mix of a moderate threshold and low taxes helps explain why so many professionals and remote workers have moved to Tennessee.

States with the highest thresholds

Connecticut: just under or around $1 million
Massachusetts and New Jersey: well above $800,000
New York and California: in the high $700,000s to $800,000‑plus range

In these states, you need an extraordinary income to make it into the top 1%. That’s because the cost of living is high, competition for top jobs is fierce, and average earnings are much greater—especially in big cities.

States with the lowest thresholds

West Virginia and Mississippi: in the high $300,000s
New Mexico, Arkansas, and Kentucky: generally in the low‑to‑mid $400,000s

These states have the lowest bar for entry into the top 1% because both wages and living costs are lower. That means you don’t have to earn as much to stand out as one of the highest earners.

Tennessee in regional context

Compared to its neighbors in the Southeast, Tennessee’s threshold is higher than some, but lower than fast-growing, high-income places like Florida and Georgia. This shows that Tennessee isn’t a “low-wage” outlier anymore—the state now has a significant upper-income group, even as it still faces challenges with poverty and wage gaps in its rural areas.

For families and planners, the Tennessee numbers show that:

To join the top 1% in Tennessee, you need to earn much more than most professionals. It usually takes executive pay, owning a successful business, or making a lot from investments.
The gap between the top 1% and the average household is big. This raises concerns about affordability, housing, and economic opportunity—even in Tennessee, which is often seen as an affordable place to live.

Selected 2025 thresholds, including Tennessee

Tennessee

Just above $535,000

Texas

Roughly mid‑$600,000s

Florida

Upper‑$600,000s

Illinois

Mid‑to‑upper‑$600,000s

Colorado

Upper‑$600,000s

These numbers show that Tennessee’s 1% threshold is lower than in some big, wealthy states, but it’s still very high. Tennessee stands out as a “middle-tier” 1% state: it draws in high earners, but there’s still a big gap between the wealthiest households and everyone else.

Sources (URLs)

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Income Needed to Join the Top 1% by State (2025)

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