The definition of a “top-10% earner” can vary significantly based on how you measure it. Some sources use the total amount of income coming into a home, typically defined as “household income,” to make that determination, but others look at individual income, or what each distinct person earns or reports. Those are very different yardsticks, and they produce very different thresholds.
Here’s how “the top 10%” breaks down using the most recent nationwide data available as of January 2026.
