Here’s How Much You Need To Earn To Be ‘Rich’ in 30 Major Countries Around the World

How many Americans can be considered rich? Not many.

According to a recent report from The Institute for Economic Equality at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in the third quarter of 2023, the top 10% of households, as measured by wealth, had an average of $6.5 million and 67% of total household wealth. By contrast, the bottom 50% of households had $50,000 — just 3% of total household wealth.

As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the U.S. is hardly where everyone’s dreams can come true. It’s getting tougher for the middle class to hold their ground, let alone manage their bills and other expenses. But how does your standard of living compare to that of others around the globe?

Here’s a look at how much you need to be considered rich in 30 countries:

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $284,981
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $125,021

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $55,378
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $17,954

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $221,352
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $45,137

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $305,578
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $119,544

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $166,057
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $52,786

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $57,055
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $10,114

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $200,647
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $48,644

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $43,549
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $10,789

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $275,403
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $101,789

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $330,235
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $117,060

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $103,296
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $16,807

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $115,931
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $34,678

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $208,839
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $47,375

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $579,242
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $157,946

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $293,686
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $93,327

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $283,986
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $103,789

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $355,876
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $51,041

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $81,381
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $23,181

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $85,088
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $22,012

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $117,837
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $28,883

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $219,165
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $50,034

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $477,187
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $215,388

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $218,147
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $56,949

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $50,482
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $10,656

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $174,664
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $43,010

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $424,634
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $91,605

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $276,639
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $97,999

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $592,319
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $165,633

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $763,839
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $213,495

• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $112,809
• Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $29,750

Gabrielle Olya and Nicole Spector contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed countries around the world to determine how much someone needs to make (in 2022 U.S. dollars) to be considered ‘rich’. GOBankingRates started by using the World Inequality Database to find the [1] national average pre-tax income threshold to be in the top 10% of earners and the [2] national average pre-tax income threshold to be in the top 1% of earners in each country. All the data was collected and is up-to-date as of June 7, 2024.