Would you consider yourself 'rich'? Here's how much more you need to earn to be considered wealthy in every state compared to 5 years ago

• The amount people must earn to be considered ‘rich’ has risen in every state 
• Americans must earn more than $500,000 to be among the richest in 12 states
• Scroll down for our interactive map of the changes in each US state in five years

The salary to be considered ‘rich’ has risen in every state in the last five years – as  rampaging inflation means everyday spending eats up a bigger chunk of wages.

In fact, new data has revealed how the earnings needed to be among the wealthiest has soared by over 40 percent in some states.

The definition of rich has changed the most in Washington state, according to data from GOBankingRates, where Americans must now earn $544,518 to be among the wealthiest, up from $378,374.

The personal finance site defined ‘rich’ as those within the top 5 percent of earners in each state.

In order to be within this category in 12 US states, workers must earn a salary of over $500,000, it found, as household spending power has eroded.

Washington is home to big paying firms like Microsoft and Amazon as well as Starbucks and T Mobile (Pictured: Amazon headquarters in Seattle)

GOBankingRates compared US Census Bureau salary data from 2017 and the latest available data from 2022 to see how the earnings threshold to be among the top 5 percent had changed over a five-year period.

In Washington, residents had to earn $378,374 in 2017 to be among the top 5 percent of earners. But in 2022, the median income of the top 5 percent had soared to $544,518.

Washington is home to big paying firms like Microsoft and Amazon as well as Starbucks and T Mobile – all based in and around Seattle. It is a far cry from its days as the birthplace of grunge and bands like Nirvana.

Nevada saw the second biggest jump over the time period – up 40.41 percent from $320,403 in 2017 to $449,872 in 2022.

Residents in Las Vegas say they have been priced out of the once-affordable city as wealthy Californians have flocked to Nevada – pushing up housing costs.

Rent in Sin City, known for its glitzy casinos and glamorous hotels, has risen 35 percent since before the pandemic, according to a report earlier this year from Las Vegas Realtor.

Residents in Las Vegas say they have been priced out of the once-affordable city as wealthy Californians have flocked to Nevada – pushing up housing costs

Housing costs in Las Vegas have increased since before the pandemic

Third on the list was Idaho, where the salary needed to be among the wealthiest rose 40.34 percent from $286,974 to $402,743 over the five-year period.

Idaho, and in particular its capital city Boise, saw an influx of visitors during the Covid-19 pandemic – which has pushed up housing and living costs in the state.

South Carolina ranked fourth for the biggest change in income needed to be ‘rich’, and California was fifth.

Residents in the Golden State needed to earn $613,602 to be among the wealthiest 5 percent in 2022 – up 37.21 percent from $447,207 in 2017.

Los Angeles is home to some of the wealthiest Americans, including celebrities such as the Kardashians and film stars like Leonardo DiCaprio – drawn to the world’s entertainment capital.

Meanwhile, in the San Francisco Bay Area typical wages are driven up by the hundreds of thousands of people working in well paid jobs in the technology sector.

Silicon Valley is home to the likes of Apple, Google, Meta, Netflix and Uber, where even average salaries are around $300,000 and top executives earn tens of millions of dollars a year.

Among other high cost states with a large percentage of wealthy residents, the change was less pronounced.

In New York, for example, the threshold only rose 29.23 percent over the five year period, and in Connecticut and the District of Columbia, it only went up 24 percent and 23.57 percent, respectively.

The state with the lowest five year percentage increase was North Dakota, where the average income of the top 5 percent only went up 14.68 percent.

North Dakota has seen an influx of immigrants from outside the US, NPR reported, with the share of the population that was born outside the country jumping more than 13 percent between 2021 and 2022.

But these new residents tend to be lower-income workers, so have not pushed up the cost of housing and living in the same way as in other states.

It rose from $364,954 in 2017 to $418,541 in 2022, according to GOBankingRates.

Los Angeles is home to some of the wealthiest Americans, including celebrities such as the Kardashians (Pictured Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian)

Silicon Valley is home to the likes of Apple, Google , Meta , Netflix and Uber (Pcitured: Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg)

In 2017, only Connecticut and the District of Columbia required incomes over $500,000 to be among the wealthiest residents.

But in 2022, the median income of the top 5 percent in Washington, California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Virginia, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut and the District of Columbia was more than $500,000 annually.

The rich are the richest in Connecticut and the District of Columbia, where the top earners must have an income of $656,438 and $719,253, respectively.

According to Labor Bureau data, the US median income for a single full-time worker is around $60,000.

The study lays bare the effect rampant inflation and soaring interest rates are having on household spending power.

Rises to the cost of groceries, housing, childcare and transport have hit the whole of the US.

Idaho, and in particular its capital city Boise, saw an influx of visitors during the Covid-19 pandemic – which has pushed up housing and living costs in the state

Inflation rose to 3.5 percent in March as prices were pushed up by the high cost of housing and gas

New data earlier this month revealed how inflation has eroded the buying power of a $100 grocery shop in five years.

In 2019, the sum would have bought shoppers a healthy 32-item bag complete with milk, eggs, cereal, dish soap and more. However today customers would have to take at least 10 of those products out of their basket to maintain the same budget.

Interest rates remain at a 23-year high between 5.25 and 5.5 percent, and a hotter-than-expected inflation report earlier this month has poured cold water on hopes for a rate cut in the coming months.

Speaking earlier this month in Washington DC, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it will take ‘longer than expected’ to get inflation down to the central bank’s 2 percent target –  signaling that it will also likely take longer to decrease rates.

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