Is $X a Good Salary? See Your Income Percentile by State
Enter a salary and a US state to see your estimated income percentile, how it compares to the state median, and whether it is a good salary there.
Is $X a Good Salary? See Your Income Percentile by State
Your salary
Enter a gross annual salary, pick a state, then choose how to rank it.
Individual ranks your salary among earners. Household ranks it among households (often more than one earner).
Enter a salary to see how it ranks.
Estimates from the 2023 Census ACS state medians and the national income distribution shape. The take-home figure is a coarse blended-rate band, not filing-grade. For exact net pay, use the Stub44 Salary Calculator app.
What counts as a "good" salary depends on your state
A salary is only good relative to where you earn it. That same $90,000 is a top-quartile income in Mississippi, where the median household earns about $54,200, but barely above the median in Massachusetts, where households pull in close to $99,900 (2023 ACS). Local income levels differ enough that a flat national number can't tell you whether your pay is strong. The question worth asking isn't "is this a lot of money," it's "how does it rank where I live."
This tool answers that by estimating your income percentile inside the state you select. It takes the national income distribution, shifts it to the state's income level, and finds where your salary falls. You get a rank (you earn more than about X% of earners there) plus a plain verdict, so the same dollar figure can read as well above the median in one state and merely near it in another.
How to read your income percentile
A percentile is just the share of people you out-earn: the 70th percentile means you make more than about 70% of earners and less than the top 30%. It isn't the same as an average, which a handful of very high incomes can drag upward. The median (50th percentile) is the real middle, which is why the verdict here is anchored to the state median rather than the mean.
Two choices shape the number. Individual basis ranks your salary among earners, which matches how a salary is paid (to one person). Household basis ranks the figure among households, and those usually sit higher because many have more than one earner. Either way, the estimate combines a state median with the national distribution shape, so read the percentile as a close approximation marked with a tilde, not an exact census lookup.
Good salary benchmarks by state (median, top 25%, top 10%)
State income levels cover a wide range. At the top sit the District of Columbia (about $108,200), Massachusetts (about $99,900), and New Jersey (about $99,800); at the bottom, Mississippi (about $54,200), West Virginia (about $55,900), and Louisiana (about $58,200), all well under the national median household income of $77,719. The big states land in between: Texas about $75,800, Florida about $73,300, California about $95,500.
Since the tool scales the national breakpoints to each state, the top-25% and top-10% thresholds move with that median. A salary near the top 10% in a lower-income state would only reach the upper third of a higher-income one. Run your number against a few states and watch the same figure slide up or down the rank. That's exactly the comparison that matters when an offer is tied to a specific location.
A good salary isn't the same as good take-home pay
A high gross salary doesn't guarantee high take-home. A strong gross in a high-tax state can net less than a smaller gross in a no-income-tax one, and cost of living widens the gap again. The rough take-home note here uses a coarse blended rate, so it points the right direction without being the exact figure. To turn a good rank into real spending power, model the net precisely with the Stub44 Salary Calculator app, work an offer backward with the Net to Gross Salary Calculator, compare two locations with the State Relocation Take-Home Comparison, or weigh adjusted budgets with the Cost of Living Salary Comparison Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about is $x a good salary? see your income percentile by state
Is $X a good salary?
That depends on where you earn it, how big your household is, and what things cost locally. The same number can put you in the top quarter of a low-cost state and leave you barely above the median in a high-cost one. This tool settles it by estimating where your salary ranks as a percentile within the state you pick, then labeling it with a plain verdict: below, near, above, or well above the median. Type in a number and a state above to see the estimate.
What income puts you in the top 10% (or top 1%) in my state?
The tool shifts the national income distribution to your state's income level, so the top-10% threshold in a higher-income state sits well above the same threshold in a lower-income one. As a rough national anchor, about $135,000 of individual income reaches the 90th percentile and roughly $407,000 reaches the 99th. Pick your state and the calculator scales those breakpoints to local income levels, so a salary that clears "Well above median" is in or near the top fifth there.
How does my salary compare to the median household income in my state?
The results show a "vs. state median" line: the dollar difference between your salary and the state median, plus the ratio (for example, +$18,400, about 1.3x the median). On the household basis the anchor is the state median household income from the 2023 ACS. On the individual basis the anchor is the national individual median scaled to the state, since a salary is an individual figure. Flip the basis toggle to see both.
What is a good salary in a high-cost versus low-cost state, like California versus Mississippi?
California's median household income (about $95,500 in the 2023 ACS) is far above Mississippi's (about $54,200), so the same salary ranks much lower in California. A $90,000 salary lands well above the median in Mississippi but only a little above it in California. To turn that rank into spending power, pair this with the Cost of Living Salary Comparison Calculator.
Is this percentile based on individual income or household income?
Both, via the basis toggle. Individual ranks your salary among earners and is the default, since a salary is one person's income. Household ranks the figure among households and anchors to the state's median household income. The two answers differ because many households have more than one earner, so the household curve sits higher. The label and the comparison line update to match whichever basis you choose.
What is the difference between salary and take-home pay, and does this account for taxes?
Salary is your gross, pre-tax income; take-home is what lands after federal tax, FICA, and state tax. This tool ranks the gross salary and adds only a rough after-tax note using a blended rate band, so treat it as directional, not exact. A high gross in a high-tax state can net less than a lower gross elsewhere. For precise net pay, use the Net to Gross Salary Calculator or the Stub44 Salary Calculator app.
Where does this income data come from, and how current is it?
State medians are the U.S. Census Bureau 2023 ACS 1-year estimates of median household income (national median: $77,719). The national percentile breakpoints come from DQYDJ's individual income percentile data (2022 income year). The household-basis result reuses the individual distribution shape rescaled to each state's median, which is a documented approximation. Every output is labeled as an estimate.
Is $100,000 a good salary in the US?
Nationally, $100,000 of individual income beats roughly 80% of earners, so it is a strong salary across most of the country. The verdict shifts by state, though: $100,000 sits comfortably above the median in lower-income states and closer to it in higher-income ones like Massachusetts or New Jersey. Enter 100000, pick your state, and the tool gives the local percentile and verdict. If you are weighing two earners, the Two-Income Household Take-Home tool reframes it at the household level.