(NEXSTAR) — As many people across the country continue to suffer from high prices for just about everything due to inflation, it can be hard to imagine people getting richer.
But the 19th century adage that implied that “the rich get richer” still rings true today, according to a new study. Just last month, an anti-poverty advocacy group predicted that the world would create its first billionaire within the next decade.
Since 2020, billionaires have become 34% wealthier as their wealth has increased three times the rate of inflation, the report explains. But you don't need a billion dollars, or even a million dollars, to be considered one of America's richest people.
A 2022 Pew Research Center analysis found that a family of three with a household income of $156,000 could be considered upper class, although lower class. (may vary depending on where you are). Standards for America's upper class could be even higher. GOBanking Rates reported in December that a household income of more than $250,000 may be needed to be considered upper class.
The personal finance site used a slightly lower median household income of $200,000 to analyze where the richest Americans are getting wealthier.
The analysis, released Wednesday, looked at the nation's 100 largest cities and determined how each city's median household income changed between 2019 and 2022, as well as the number of households with incomes of $200,000 or more. ranked them based on changes in
Unsurprisingly, California dominates GOBankingRate's list. The top city in which the “rich are getting richer” is Los Altos, where median household income exceeded $400,000 in 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, analysts said. No other cities on the list had household incomes above $400,000.
Los Altos was one of seven California cities in the top 10. Overall, 37 California cities made the list.
GOBankingRate found that the richest people on both coasts are getting even wealthier. Texas is the only southern state with a city in the top 25 on the list, but cities in Alabama and Florida also appear on the complete list shared with Nexstar.
Of the 100 cities analyzed, 78 cities had a median household income of $200,000 or more in 2022, nine cities had a median household income of $300,000 or more, and 13 cities fell below that threshold.
At the bottom of GOBankingRate's list was Parkland, Florida. The average household income is over $200,000, but nearly half of the population earns more. The city had the second-lowest change in median household income from 2019 to 2022.
Below is a complete list of GOBankingRate and an interactive summary of each city's median household income, three-year percentage change in median household income, and three-year percentage change in population with incomes over $200,000 for each city in 2022. It is a table.
Two Washington state cities, Bainbridge Island and Issaquah, both near Seattle, experienced the largest percentage changes in household income over the three-year period (48% and 43%, respectively). From 2019 to 2022, Bainbridge Island saw the biggest change in the percentage of its population making more than $200,000, at nearly 57%.
Overall, 20 states were included in the GOBankingRates analysis.
However, in some fields, an income of $200,000 or more may not be enough. A recent study by personal finance site SmartAsset found that, on average, his $100,000 salary is only worth about $70,700 after taxes and the cost of living in the country's largest city are taken into account.
A recent analysis by a group of Congressional Republicans shows the impact of inflation on the average household in each state. (The joint committee is chaired by a Democrat, but the report and data were released by Republican members.) The report uses January 2021 as a benchmark, which means that “inflation has recently because it was the last time it was within historical standards.
The report claims that most U.S. households would need to spend an additional $10,000 or more to obtain the same goods and quality of life as within three years.
It doesn't seem to get any better either.
Although inflation has eased significantly over the past year, the Labor Department reported last week that consumer prices remain well above the Fed's 2% target.
The Fed has kept interest rates unchanged for the past four meetings.
Alix Martichoux of The Associated Press and Nexstar contributed to this report.
