You're Officially In The 'Upper Class' In Texas If Your Income Hits This Number

Like other states, Texas has its own unique socio-economic scale. What might seem like a meager income in one state could actually be quite high in another and the Lone Star State is no exception. While Texas is home to towns where retirees can live on Social Security alone it also has some cities where buying a house will cost you a lot more money than other metropolitan areas. What residents of Texas can afford versus what they earn all depends on what class they fall into and exactly what they decide to spend their income purchasing.

GOBankingRates data found that in Texas, the median household income is $76,292, with a middle-class income falling somewhere between $50,861 and $152,584, and upper-middle-class incomes starting at $118,676. Basically, if you and your household are able to bring in at least $152,584 on an annual basis, you can live in Texas and call yourself upper class.

The short answer is: money — lots of it. Americans who earn a minimum of $352,773 each year are nationally considered to be "upper class," with only 5% of the U.S. workers able to call themselves top earners in this regard. The real median household income in America, according to FRED, comes out to $80,610 in 2023.

WalletHub found that when it came to ranking states where people have the highest incomes in 2025, Texas placed 11th on the list with the average annual income of the top 5% of residents being $504,383. It was sandwiched between two of the most expensive states to live in: Massachusetts in 10th place with $133,946 as the medium annual income and California ranking 12th with $129,884.

For Texans, the cost of living is much lower, so incomes go further. In 2025 the total cost of living in Texas amounts to $2,122 for a single person and $5,112 for a family of four based on calculations from LivingCost.org, which put it as the 31st-most-expensive state in America.

Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023, USA Wage found that the highest paying jobs in Texas came with the title of "physician" in some form, earning workers in that category an average annual salary of $232,690 in 2022. That's almost double the current threshold of earnings for what it takes to be considered upper class in the state. Outside of the medical field, athletes, executives, air travel workers, sales people, and engineers were some of the top-paying jobs in Texas to reach the heights of socio-economic status.

Earning the money is one part of the equation for being upper class in Texas and the other part is knowing where and how to spend it. Lifestyle inflation can creep up on many Americans who think that just because they have higher incomes that they can increase their expenses or max out their cost-of-living budget. Some of the signs that you are upper class in any state is that you have enough money to easily cover your costs, can indulge on a few luxury expenses, and keep some savings in your accounts to grow into wealth.