These Are the States Where $1 Million Annual Incomes Are Most and Least Common

Washington, D.C., and Connecticut have the highest share of tax returns reporting $1 million or more in annual income, while states in the South and Midwest tend to have smaller shares.

Filers reporting at least $1 million represented just 0.5% of returns nationwide but accounted for about 17% of all reported income.

Connecticut has a higher rate of taxpayers pulling in $1 million annually than any other state, with the caveat that Washington, D.C.—the federal district where federal tax policy is made—has it beat.

Just under 1% of tax returns from D.C.—0.97%—reported of at least $1 million, according to Investopedia 's analysis of newly released IRS data. Connecticut led the states at 0.90%, followed by Massachusetts at 0.76% and New York at 0.73%.

The highest concentrations generally appear in wealthy coastal states, while many of the lowest are in the South and Midwest. The IRS data measure adjusted gross income as reported on tax returns, not salary or household net worth, and a return may represent married households, not just individuals.

Seven-figure earners make up only a tiny share of tax filers but account for an outsized share of reported income. Their concentration in certain states also shows how unevenly the nation's highest incomes—and the business and investment gains that help generate them—are distributed.

The share of tax filers with incomes of at least $1 million topped the national rate of 0.5% in a dozen states, including California (0.72%), New Jersey (0.69%) and Florida (0.65%).

Despite their relatively small numbers, filers reporting at least $1 million accounted for a significant share of income. Those earning at least seven figures reported about one-quarter of all income in D.C., Florida, Connecticut and New York, and about one-fifth in Massachusetts and California.

Nationwide, taxpayers who earned at least $1 million reported $2.5 trillion in income, or collectively about 17% of the national total.

Seven-figure incomes are least common in West Virginia, where 0.16% of tax filers reported at least $1 million in adjusted gross income. New Mexico and Mississippi tied for second-lowest, at 0.21%. The share of taxpayers earning at least $1 million was 0.3% or lower in eight other states: Kentucky, Arkansas, Hawaii, Maine, Iowa, Louisiana, Indiana and Ohio.

In states where high earners are rarer, their income accounted for a smaller share of the state total. In West Virginia, the 1,240 filers who made at least seven figures reported $3.1 billion, or 5.9% of income statewide. In New Mexico, income from this group totaled $5.4 billion, or 7.9% of income statewide.