The 2016 election season inspired lots of vague talk about the Top 1 percent. But if you want to join that elite group in Georgia, you now have specific numbers to aim for. A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute determined how much top earners in the U.S. from each state make each year, compared to the other 99 percent.
How much do you have to make in Georgia to be in the Top 1 percent?
According to the report, Georgians would have to make $345,876 to be part of the top 1 percent of earners in the state. The Institute produced a report on income inequality in the U.S. by state using tax data for singles and married couples for 2013.
Georgia earners fell into these percentiles:
- Average annual income of the top 1 percent in Georgia: $857,728
- What Georgians need to make to be in that top 1 percent: $345,876
- Average income of everyone else in Georgia, aka "the Bottom 99 percent": $40,095
While you'd only have to make around eight times the average Georgia income to be in the top 1 percent, the study also found that the whole top 1 percent in Georgia makes 21.4 times more than the entire bottom 99 percent.
How much do you have to make in the U.S. to be in the Top 1 percent?
The short answer: more than $1 million. The report found that earners in the United States as a whole fell into these percentiles:
- Average annual income of the top 1 percent in the U.S.: $1,153,293
- What Americans need to earn to be in that top 1 percent: $389,436
- Average income of everyone else in the U.S., aka "the Bottom 99 percent": $45,567
- The top 1 percent makes 25.3 times more than the bottom 99 percent.
How does Georgia compare with the rest of the country?
While the report's findings provide a benchmark for those who aspire to elite amounts of wealth, its purpose was to point up income inequality. "Rising inequality is not just a story of those in the financial sector in the greater New York City metropolitan area reaping outsized rewards from speculation in financial markets," noted the study authors. "While New York and Connecticut are the most unequal states... nine states, 54 metropolitan areas, and 165 counties have gaps wider than the national gap."
Georgia ranks No. 13 of the 50 states in income inequality, based on its ratio of top 1 percent to bottom 99 percent income.
The report also pointed a finger at Echols County for being the "most unequal" county in Georgia, with the top 1 percent there making 44.4 times more than the bottom 99 percent. The average income of the top 1 percent in Echols County is $944,727 compared to its average for the bottom 99 percent: $21,266.
For the complete findings in interactive graph findings, click here.
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