What the Richest 1% Pay in Taxes in Your State

Does the wealthy get away with not paying their fair share of taxes? Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have both proposed a wealth tax on the ultra-rich. Even multi-billionaire Warren Buffett has said that it is fair if wealthy Americans such as himself should be taxed at a higher rate.

Currently, the top federal income tax rate is 37%. It applies to incomes of $539,000 and higher for single taxpayers and $647,850 and higher for couples filing jointly. But the top marginal tax rate has been much higher throughout U.S. history. It peaked at 94% in 1944 and 1945, according to the Tax Policy Center. The lowest it has been in recent history was 28% in the late 1980s under former President Ronald Reagan.

So, the wealthy have been taxed more in the past, but they’ve also been taxed less than they are now. Whether the rich pay their fair share of taxes is still up for debate, but they do pay a disproportionate share of taxes in the U.S.

The top 1% of taxpayers — those who earn $561,351 or more — paid 42.3% of the total tax revenue collected in 2020, according to the latest figures from the IRS. In fact, the top 1% of taxpayers paid more income taxes than the bottom 90% all together. Additionally, the top 1% of taxpayers paid $723 billion in income taxes and the bottom 90% paid $450 billion.

Keep reading to find out how the wealthy fare in your home state. Check out how much you need to earn to be “rich” in every state.

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $404,560
• Average income of the 1%: $1,107,769
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $263,845
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23.8%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $466,905
• Average income of the 1%: $999,772
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $253,754
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.4%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $485,146
• Average income of the 1%: $1,464,848
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $369,426
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.22%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $387,666
• Average income of the 1%: $1,483,925
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $313,266
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 21.11%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $726,188
• Average income of the 1%: $2,430,790
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $655,180
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 26.95%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $609,919
• Average income of the 1%: $1,799,148
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $465,284
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.86%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $819,630
• Average income of the 1%: $2,994,197
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $850,486
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 28.40%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $455,813
• Average income of the 1%: $1,130,051
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $286,738
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.4%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $597,787
• Average income of the 1%: $2,610,168
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $673,926
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.8%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $503,524
• Average income of the 1%: $1,441,112
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $361,180
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $425,996
• Average income of the 1%: $1,220,687
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $294,372
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $481,713
• Average income of the 1%: $1,554,757
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $360,217
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23.2%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $568,390
• Average income of the 1%: $1,777,275
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $468,366
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 26.4%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $407,436
• Average income of the 1%: $1,067,785
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $262,169
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.6%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $416,295
• Average income of the 1%: $1,082,341
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $260,789
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $477,303
• Average income of the 1%: $1,433,811
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $358,847
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $383,016
• Average income of the 1%: $946,997
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $228,605
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $394,176
• Average income of the 1%: $1,000,664
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $248,166
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.8%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $432,311
• Average income of the 1%: $1,065,770
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $256,178
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $544,756
• Average income of the 1%: $1,556,220
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $403,660
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.9%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $777,052
• Average income of the 1%: $2,616,125  
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $710,286
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 27.2%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $434,088
• Average income of the 1%: $1,272,669
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $318,257
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $538,836
• Average income of the 1%: $1,488,497
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $380,066
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.5%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $328,504
• Average income of the 1%: $805,583
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $185,595
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%:$430,609
• Average income of the 1%: $1,303,645
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $324,992
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.9%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $481,383
• Average income of the 1%: $1,383,928
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $338,480
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.5%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $460,735
• Average income of the 1%: $1,385,275
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $333,805
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $519,311
• Average income of the 1%: $2,275,520
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $573,199
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.2%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $566,865
• Average income of the 1%: $1,720,454
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $451,691
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 26.3%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $703,033
• Average income of the 1%: $1,906,729
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $534,143
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 28%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $353,858
• Average income of the 1%: $936,508
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $218,671
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23.4%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $668,039
• Average income of the 1%: $2,636,907
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $745,923
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 28.3%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $481,474
• Average income of the 1%: $1,266,561
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $320,556
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.3%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $503,661
• Average income of the 1%: $1,267,020
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $313,776
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.8%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $430,288
• Average income of the 1%: $1,167,012
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $292,791
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $395,813
• Average income of the 1%: $1,027,631
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $243,326
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23.7%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $491,840
• Average income of the 1%: $1,290,794
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $318,327
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.7%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $506,367
• Average income of the 1%: $1,474,264
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $367,767
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $471,814
• Average income of the 1%: $1,289,506
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $325,743
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.3%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $437,319
• Average income of the 1%: $1,198,225
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $292,382
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.4%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $507,804
• Average income of the 1%: $1,796,244
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $412,893
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $471,640
• Average income of the 1%: $1,437,792
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $361,203
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $543,479
• Average income of the 1%: $1,756,269
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $453,694
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.8%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $542,357
• Average income of the 1%: $1,916,721
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $455,616
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23.8%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $445,587
• Average income of the 1%: $1,082,248
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $255,752
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23.6%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $553,800
• Average income of the 1%: $1,548,397
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $404,290
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 26.1%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $692,287
• Average income of the 1%: $2,121,289
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $551,288
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 25.99%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $316,172
• Average income of the 1%: $678,094
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $157,734
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 23.26%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $444,969
• Average income of the 1%: $1,275,200
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $317,559
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.90%

• Minimum income to be considered 1%: $564,354
• Average income of the 1%: $3,338,851 
• Average income tax paid by the 1%: $827,796
• Average tax rate of the 1%: 24.79%

Jordan Rosenfeld, Jami Farkas and Cameron Huddleston contributed to the reporting for this article. 

Methodology: In order to discover what the richest 1% pay in taxes in your state, GOBankingRates looked at the US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Statistics of Income (SOI) division’s “Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Percentile Data by State” data set or tax returns filed for 2020 (the latest data available). With this data GOBankingRates was able to find the following factors for each state: (1) minimum income needed to be considered 1% in your state; (2) average income of the 1%; (3) average income tax paid by the 1%; (4) average tax rate of the 1%. All data was collected on and up to date as of March 6, 2023.