15 States Where Ultra-Wealthy Americans Have the Highest Net Worth, Study Breaks Stereotypes
When you think of the ultra-wealthy, images of Los Angeles and New York City probably come to mind. But the truth surprises many: Multi-billionaire Elon Musk lives in a small house in Texas, and Warren Buffet lives in the same Omaha, Nebraska, home he purchased in 1958.
For these reasons, the richest of the rich Americans aren’t always congregated where the average American assumes. SmartAsset set out to break this stereotype, using Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data to determine which states have the highest net worth among the ultra-wealthy.
Try coming up with a list of states and see just how wrong you probably are.
Defining Ultra-Wealthy
SmartAsset chose to define “ultra-wealthy” Americans as those with a net worth of $13.57 million or more. If that sounds like an odd number, it’s because they used IRS statistics from 2019, deeming $11.4 million the amount it takes to be ultra-wealthy. Since they ran their study in 2023, SmartAsset converted all 2019 numbers to the projected value in 2023 dollars.
The following ranking is based on the average net worth of each state’s ultra-wealthy residents. SmartAsset wasn’t able to get complete IRS data for Alaska, Rhode Island, and Vermont, so these states might have skewed numbers.
With these discrepancies out in the open, these are the states where ultra-rich Americans have the highest net worth.
Lowest Net Worth
So, which state ranks as the lowest net worth in the nation? West Virginia.
The Mountain State has an average ultra-wealthy net worth of “only” $19 million. Of the households in West Virginia, 137 fall into the ultra-wealthy category. That’s the second-lowest in the U.S., with South Dakota having the fewest number of ultra-wealthy households at 110.
Mississippi has the second-lowest net worth among ultra-wealthy households in the nation, with an average of $19.4 million. Kentucky, Maine, and Maryland fall in third through fifth place, with an average net worth of $21.3 million, $21.5 million, and $21.9 million, respectively.
Richest Americans
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is the richest American in the country, with a net worth of $251 billion, according to The Forbes 400 ranking for 2023. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, trailed in second place with $161 billion at the time of Forbes’ publication.
Meanwhile, Warren Buffet’s $121 billion in net worth ranked him as the fourth-richest American. Bill Gates came in sixth place with a net worth of $111 billion.
Unfathomable Numbers
For many Americans, grasping a net worth in the millions is challenging, let alone having billions to one’s name. The average annual salary for Americans in quarter four of 2024 was a mere $59,384. Although the gender pay gap is shrinking, there’s still a noticeable difference; male Americans make an average of $63,960 per year, while females average $53,404.
As of 2023, Massachusetts residents have the highest annual salary in the country ($86,840). Meanwhile, Mississippians have the lowest annual salary, at $48,048.
How Much Money It Takes To Be in the Top 1%
Whether you dream of being in the top 1% or think you might already be there, one thing is certain: The income a household makes to be in the top 1% club varies by state. Here’s how much you need to make to have a higher income than 99% of Americans.
How Much Money It Takes To Be in the Top 1% in Each State
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