Special Report

How Much of New York's Total Income Is Earned by the Top 5%

Grant Suneson

Published: June 13, 2021 7:00 am

The U.S. is an immensely rich country. In addition to having the world’s largest economy, it tops the list in both the number of high-net-worth individuals, generally defined as those whose financial assets exceed $1 million in value (5.9 million of them, according to global consultant Capgemini) and billionaires (724).
At the same time, the U.S. continues to have the worst income inequality of any G7 nation, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. A 2017 analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows income inequality in America to be “very close to the average” of that in the African countries that were included in the study, and far below its peers with similar per-capita incomes, like Sweden.

Within the U.S., income inequality also varies from state to state. One measure that can reveal income inequality is the concentration of income among the top 5% of earners.

In New York, the top 5% of earners took in 25.8% of the total income in the state in 2019, the highest percentage among states. Nationwide, the top 5% of earners took in 23.3% of income that year. Conversely, the lowest 20% of earners in New York accounted for just 2.5% of all income in the state. Nationwide, the bottom 20% had an aggregate share of 3.2% of all earnings.

Earnings in New York tend to be relatively high. The state has the 14th highest median annual household income in the country, at $72,108, compared to the U.S. median of $65,712. The state’s poverty rate is the 16th highest, at 13.0%. The U.S. poverty rate is 12.3%

To identify the states where the richest 5% earn half the income, 24/7 Wall St reviewed the aggregate share of income by quintile from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2019.