Here's the income it takes to live among the top 1 percent in Texas

isn't that rich?

So this is how the other half lives. Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Wondering how "the other half lives" is so outdated, especially when we we can easily peek into what life is like for the "one percent." A new report from SmartAsset reveals how much money you'll need to be considered the top one percent in Texas.

With two Houston suburbs landing among the richest cities in Texas in a recent report, it's obvious that the Lone Star State is dotted with pockets of wealth. But how much do you actually need in your pocket to have a top one percent income?

In Texas, an annual income of $641,400 will land you at the top, while $258,400 only gets you to the top five percent.

To come up with those numbers, SmartAsset analyzed 2019 data from IRS tax units and adjusted the figures to 2022 dollars using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For comparison, "the average American household earns a median income of under $70,000," according to the study. And per the latest figures from the U. S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Texas (in 2021 dollars) is $67,321. That leaves plenty of us with a long way to go in our financial striving.

So now we know how we compare to our neighbors, but where does that put the affluent population of Texas in comparison with other states?

For starters, Texas claimed the 10th highest income required to reach top income levels.

The one percent income threshold is hardest to meet in Connecticut ($955,000), Massachusetts ($900,000), New Jersey ($825,965), New York ($817,796), and California ($805,519). Only these five states have thresholds that exceed $800,00, and it's a pretty steep drop down to Texas ($641,400) in 10th place.

The five states where it's easiest to attain one percent status (even though that doesn't seem like good news) are Kentucky ($447,300), Arkansas ($446,276), New Mexico ($418,970), Mississippi ($383,128), and West Virginia ($374,712).

The SmartAsset report also included average tax rates for top earners in each state. There was surprisingly little variance in the top 10 states, with Washington state having the lowest rate (25.02%) and Connecticut collecting the highest tax rate (27.77%).

Texas was in the middle of the pack with a tax rate of 25.71% levied on top one percent incomes.

The 10 states with the highest earnings required to be a one-percenter and their tax rates are:

  1. Connecticut ($955.3K, Tax rate 27.77%)
  2. Massachusetts ($896.9K, Tax rate 26.4%)
  3. New Jersey ($826K, Tax rate 27.36%)
  4. New York ($817.8K, Tax rate 27.48%)
  5. California ($805.5K, Tax rate 26.78%)
  6. Washington ($736.1K, Tax rate 25.02%)
  7. Colorado ($682.9K, Tax rate 25.24%)
  8. Florida ($678.8K, Tax rate 25.23%)
  9. Illinois ($666.2K, Tax rate 26.23%)
  10. Texas ($641.4K, Tax rate 25.71%)
If you're on your way to being a top earner and want to do a deeper dive on those numbers, you can view the full report on the SmartAsset website.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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$5B Austin medical center, anchored by MD Anderson, to break ground this fall

moving forward

Construction on the $1 billion first phase of the AI-native University of Texas Dell Medical Center in Austin—which will feature a hospital operated by Houston’s UT MD Anderson Cancer Center—is set to start this fall.

The UT System Board of Regents approved funding for first-phase construction on Aug. 12.

The medical center—now expected to cost $5 billion, up from the initial $2.9 billion estimate—will span about 2.5 million square feet. It will include 300 to 500 patient beds, outpatient facilities, an emergency department and specialized care for cancer patients.

MD Anderson will bring its world-renowned oncology programs to the center’s integrated health care model, Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti, senior vice president of medical affairs at UT Austin and dean of the university’s Dell Medical School, tells Health Leaders.

Earlier this year, Austin tech billionaire Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, pledged $750 million for development of the medical center. The medical center, scheduled for completion in December 2030, will be a cornerstone of the new 300-acre UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research, a medical education and research hub.

“Through this new campus and medical center, Texas will lead America in health care innovation,” Gov. Greg Abbott said when the research campus was announced in April. “The next generation of medical breakthroughs will take place in Central Texas.”

The medical center will fold AI tools and other technology into the infrastructure, rather than having them added after it’s built. Among other capabilities, the technology will monitor real-time medical data, automate data entry, and help health care professionals quickly predict and identify risks to patients, according to Health Leaders.

“We are not just building a new medical center,” Lucchinetti says. “We are building a fundamentally new model of health. It’s not just a new facility. It’s not just a new collaboration. It is a convergence of capabilities that rarely come together at the same time.”

Houston hospital ranks among 20 best in U.S. & more top innovation news

Trending News

Editor's note: August is off to a strong start with these five big innovation headlines to know. From the annual U.S. News ranking of best hospitals to a big Series A raise, here are the most-read Houston innovation stories published July 31-August 14, 2026:

1. U.S. News declares Houston hospital No. 1 in Texas for the 15th year

Houston Methodist Hospital and over a dozen more Houston-area hospitals have earned bragging rights in U.S. Houston Methodist was also the only Texas institution named on U.S. News' Best Hospitals Honor Roll, a prestigious list of the 20 best medical centers in the country. Houston Methodist also reigns as Texas' best hospital for the 15th consecutive year. Continue reading.

2. Houston startup lands $10M to power up electrician staffing platform

Houston-based Buildforce, which provides a tech-enabled staff platform geared toward electricians and electrical contractors, has raised a $10 million Series A round led by Houston’s Saepio Capital. Other investors in the round include Blue Heron Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, S3 Ventures and Chicago Ventures. Buildforce says the funding will help fuel its national expansion and further development of its technology. Continue reading.

3. UTHealth Houston joins NASA initiative to protect border drinking water

Climate change means far more to public health than living with hotter days. Transformations in our weather are contributing to challenges in accessing safe drinking water in some communities. One of the most dire situations is along the US–Mexico border. NASA is seeking to address that issue with its Water Quality Applications program. An 11-researcher project led by a UTHealth Houston School of Public Health faculty member has been selected to participate. Continue reading.

4. KBR unveils name, branding for new government services spinoff

Houston-based KBR Inc.'s new Mission Technology Solutions unit officially has a name. The previously announced government services spinoff, which until now has been nicknamed SpinCo, will now be known as Trinzic. The company said in a news release that the name was inspired by the word intrinsic, "reflecting essential, built-in capabilities and deep expertise operating in some of the world’s most complex and mission-critical environments." Continue reading.

5. Who are Houston's top innovators? Nominate now for 2026 Houston Innovation Awards

Calling all Houston innovators: The 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, presented by InnovationMap, return this fall to celebrate the best and brightest in the Houston innovation ecosystem right now. We're asking you to nominate Houston's top innovators and startups for this year's awards. Nominations are open through August 27 and can be made on behalf of yourself, your organization, and other influential leaders in the local innovation scene. Continue reading.

Rice lands $15M U.S. Army award to launch next-gen wireless research center

defense funding

The U.S. Army Research Office has awarded Rice University $15 million to establish a new center for next-generation sensing and communications.

The five-year research center—dubbed the Center for Large Aperture Secure Sensing, Imaging and Communications (CLASSIC)—will unite researchers from universities and national laboratories to develop advanced antenna technologies for future wireless systems. Edward Knightly, the Sheafor-Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice, will lead the center that “combines expertise in wireless networking, antennas, radar, artificial intelligence, circuits and physics to address growing demands on wireless systems,” according to Rice.

“The challenges we’re tackling require advances that span physics, hardware, communications and computing," Knightly said in a news release. “By combining those strengths in a single center, we can accelerate the development and demonstration of technologies that would not be possible through individual efforts alone.”

Joining Knightly will be Ashutosh Sabharwal of Rice, Sensen Li of the University of Texas at Austin, Hou-Tong Chen of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Danijela Cabric of UCLA, Josep M. Jornet and Tommaso Melodia of Northeastern University, Daniel M. Mittleman of Brown University, and Willie Padilla of Duke University.

Industry partners include Booz Allen Hamilton, Intel, Keysight, Lockheed Martin, MITRE, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm and Raytheon.

CLASSIC researchers will investigate how large-scale antenna arrays (ELSAAs) can expand the capabilities of wireless systems where technology is limited.

ELSAAs use thousands of coordinated antenna elements to direct radio waves. Researchers aim to develop ways to use the technology to help maintain steady communication when signals are blocked or disrupted and to detect and generate detailed images of concealed objects.

Along with ELSAAs, the center will work to develop sensing techniques for threat detection, study wireless jamming and build resilient high-speed wireless networks. Researchers will ultimately validate the technology in labs and via drone-based field trials.

CLASSIC will also work on developing an AI-driven modeling framework that will simulate complex electromagnetic environments in real time.

“This award demonstrates Rice’s leadership in tackling complex national research challenges through collaboration across disciplines and institutions,” David Sholl, executive vice president for research at Rice, added in the release.

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