You're A Top 10% New Yorker If Your Household Income Is Above This Number

New York residents have access to diverse professional and cultural experiences throughout the state, and its dense population generates a vast spectrum of annual earnings. If you want to be in the top 10% for income earners in New York, you must make over $351,650 per year, according to MoneyLion's analysis of 2024 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). For perspective, GoBankingRates' analysis of data from the Social Security Administration reports the top 5% of American households earned $352,773 in 2025.

However, by some metrics, the top 10% threshold for individual New Yorkers is slightly more accessible: The New York Department of Labor reports that anyone in the state earning $77.42 per hour — or $161,034 annually — in 2026 has a place among the top 10% of workers. Even that figure is nearly twice the state's 2024 median income of $85,820, per the Census Bureau, which is already among the highest median incomes of anywhere in the U.S. All told, MoneyLion's analysis suggests the top 10% of income earners in the state bring in 4.1 times that amount.

However, the cost of living plays a major role in how far earnings in a given area go, and New York's can be especially high. According to Q1 2026 research by the Missouri Economic Research & Information Center, living in New York costs 24.7% more than the national average. So, those earning upper-class incomes may not all display the signs that they're upper class.

For those seeking to be among the top income earners in their state, it's helpful to know what professions pay the most. For New York residents, 15 out of the top 20 highest-paying jobs were in healthcare professions in 2023. Per the BLS, cardiologists topped the list with an average income of $402,840 per year, followed by pediatric surgeons at $359,700, and radiologists at $344,400. For New York residents in nonmedical professions, the BLS reports some of the other highest-paying careers include chief executives with an average income of $324,150, sales managers at $246,790, and financial managers at $241,150.

In addition to occupation, education can also correlate with a higher income. The BLS found that 90.8% of high-earning New Yorkers were college educated in 2023, supporting the notion that college graduates have a higher net worth. Moreover, many of the state's most lucrative professions require more education than a conventional bachelor's degree — and pursuing an advanced degree is one potential path for accessing higher wages. In 2024, the Census Bureau found New Yorkers with a graduate or professional degree earned a median annual income of $93,555, compared with $76,760 for those with a bachelor's degree, and $40,608 for high school graduates.