Whether you're rich obviously depends on how much money you have—but also on where you live and how many people your household income supports. We crunched some numbers from the Census Bureau to reveal what it takes to be a top earner in 40 of the largest metro areas. (View our methodology.) And since people define "rich" differently, we calculated average incomes for the top 20 percent of households, and the top 5 percent, in each city. Finally, we estimated what would constitute a "rich" income for a couple with no kids, and for a family of four, in each scenario. Here's what it takes to be wealthy—and very wealthy—across America:
| Top 20 percent of households | Top 5 percent of households | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City/Metro area | Average household income | "Rich" couple, no kids | "Rich" family of 4 | Average household income | "Rich" couple, no kids | "Rich" family of 4 | |
| Albuquerque, NM | $146,554 | $115,397 | $230,794 | $245,723 | $193,483 | $386,965 | |
| Atlanta, GA | $191,386 | $150,698 | $301,395 | $340,695 | $268,264 | $536,528 | |
| Austin, TX | $184,131 | $144,985 | $289,970 | $318,173 | $250,530 | $501,060 | |
| Baltimore, MD | $201,156 | $158,391 | $316,781 | $341,516 | $268,910 | $537,820 | |
| Boston, MA | $225,726 | $177,737 | $355,474 | $402,099 | $316,613 | $633,227 | |
| Charlotte, NC | $181,381 | $142,820 | $285,639 | $319,692 | $251,726 | $503,452 | |
| Chicago, IL | $200,800 | $158,110 | $316,220 | $367,200 | $289,134 | $578,268 | |
| Cleveland, OH | $157,682 | $124,159 | $248,318 | $278,287 | $219,124 | $438,247 | |
| Colorado Springs, CO | $160,895 | $126,689 | $253,378 | $263,489 | $207,472 | $414,943 | |
| Columbus, OH | $164,162 | $129,261 | $258,523 | $278,996 | $219,682 | $439,364 | |
| Dallas, TX | $189,245 | $149,012 | $298,024 | $339,527 | $267,344 | $534,688 | |
| Denver, CO | $187,582 | $147,702 | $295,405 | $330,176 | $259,981 | $519,962 | |
| Detroit, MI | $168,245 | $132,476 | $264,953 | $285,809 | $225,046 | $450,093 | |
| El Paso, TX | $126,928 | $99,943 | $199,887 | $222,454 | $175,161 | $350,321 | |
| Fresno, CA | $153,601 | $120,946 | $241,891 | $260,793 | $205,349 | $410,698 | |
| Honolulu, HI | $184,787 | $145,502 | $291,003 | $298,691 | $235,190 | $470,380 | |
| Houston, TX | $195,353 | $153,821 | $307,643 | $350,665 | $276,114 | $552,228 | |
| Indianapolis, IN | $170,670 | $134,386 | $268,772 | $304,005 | $239,374 | $478,748 | |
| Jacksonville, FL | $167,859 | $132,172 | $264,345 | $304,955 | $240,122 | $480,244 | |
| Kansas City, KS | $164,870 | $129,819 | $259,638 | $278,511 | $219,300 | $438,600 | |
| Las Vegas, NV | $173,144 | $136,334 | $272,668 | $305,256 | $240,359 | $480,718 | |
| Los Angeles, CA | $216,567 | $170,525 | $341,050 | $401,315 | $315,996 | $631,992 | |
| Louisville, KY | $150,710 | $118,669 | $237,339 | $269,433 | $212,152 | $424,304 | |
| Memphis, TN | $165,387 | $130,226 | $260,452 | $305,545 | $240,587 | $481,173 | |
| Miami, FL | $187,243 | $147,435 | $294,871 | $355,299 | $279,763 | $559,526 | |
| Milwaukee, WI | $165,467 | $130,289 | $260,578 | $288,831 | $227,426 | $454,852 | |
| Minneapolis, MN | $192,903 | $151,892 | $303,784 | $335,240 | $263,969 | $527,937 | |
| Nashville, TN | $175,645 | $138,303 | $276,606 | $333,520 | $262,614 | $525,228 | |
| New York, NY | $240,112 | $189,065 | $378,129 | $456,558 | $359,494 | $718,989 | |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $158,793 | $125,034 | $250,068 | $295,506 | $232,682 | $465,364 | |
| Omaha, NE | $155,991 | $122,828 | $245,655 | $262,914 | $207,019 | $414,038 | |
| Philadelphia, PA | $195,024 | $153,562 | $307,124 | $345,676 | $272,186 | $544,372 | |
| Phoenix, AZ | $173,039 | $136,251 | $272,502 | $303,711 | $239,143 | $478,285 | |
| Portland, OR | $173,221 | $136,394 | $272,789 | $303,647 | $239,092 | $478,184 | |
| Sacramento, CA | $176,419 | $138,913 | $277,825 | $285,670 | $224,937 | $449,874 | |
| San Antonio, TX | $155,210 | $122,213 | $244,425 | $272,217 | $214,344 | $428,688 | |
| San Diego, CA | $200,204 | $157,641 | $315,282 | $342,385 | $269,594 | $539,189 | |
| San Francisco, CA | $257,399 | $202,676 | $405,353 | $456,008 | $359,061 | $718,123 | |
| San Jose, CA | $267,380 | $210,535 | $421,071 | $450,231 | $354,513 | $709,025 | |
| Seattle, WA | $198,866 | $156,587 | $313,175 | $349,529 | $275,220 | $550,439 | |
| Washington, DC | $255,980 | $201,559 | $403,118 | $441,854 | $347,917 | $695,833 | |
| U.S. | $173,953 | $136,971 | $273,942 | $311,427 | $245,218 | $490,436 | |
systemBuilder of CA @ Sep 08, 2009 12:25:03 PM
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systemBuilder of CA @ Sep 08, 2009 12:17:39 PM