January 27, 2015
To be in the top 1 percent of income earners in New Jersey, an individual has to make at least $539,000 a year - about $150,000 more than the national average, according to 2012 data from the Economic Policy Institute released this week.
The study looked at the distribution of wealth in the United States by state from 1917 to 2012 and found that the income of the top 1 percent has increased at a faster rate in most states than the finances of the rest of the population. Different states, however, have seen this phenomenon to different degrees.
To be in the top 1 percent in Pennsylvania, an individual has to make about $354,000, according to 2012 data.
The study also spotlighted the rate of income growth by the bottom 99 percent versus the rate of top earners. In Pennsylvania, from 2009 until 2012, the top 1 percent have seen their earnings grow by almost 29 percent. The rest of the population has seen a slight drop in earnings of about 1 percent.
Top earners in Pennsylvania, however, saw their incomes grow at a slower rate than the national average of 37 percent, according to the study.
The study relies largely on tax data from the IRS for its findings.
“Rising inequality is a pervasive trend: Between 2009 and 2012, in 39 states the top 1 percent captured between half and all income growth,” a press release on the study said. Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey are included in this group.
To be in the very highest echelon of earners who are in the top 0.01 percent for annual income - those who make up one in every 10,000 people - an individual has to be significantly more wealthy. In New Jersey, the threshold for this group is almost $11 million, while in Pennsylvania the threshold for entry begins once an individual earns about $7.8 million a year.
