Millionaire Statistics 2024: There Are 22 Million Millionaires in the U.S!

To get a better look at how many people are wealthy in the world, you can start by reviewing the most recent millionaire statistics.

You’d actually be surprised at how many people are millionaires in the U.S. and across the globe.

More than you might think, and there are quite a few data points on millionaires that are interesting to know.

In the United States alone, millionaires account for 22 million people in the population.

When you break this down by percentage, this number equates to 8.8% of adults in the U.S.

There are many routes one could take that would lead them to become a millionaire.

In this article, we’ll explore numerous statistics on millionaires to provide more insight into who and where they are among the global population.

Key Statistics

• 33% of the millionaires in the U.S. are women
• There are 22 million millionaires in the United States
• There are 62.5 million millionaires worldwide
• The average millionaire is 57 years old.
• 76% of millionaires in the United States are white
• You’ll find the most millionaire households in New Jersey
• The average millionaire in the U.S. only owns one property

Millionaire Statistics: An Overview of the Data

A few of the statistics mentioned in this article will offer more niche information, but you can get a general idea of the topic by looking at the surface level.

Sure, there may be a vast number of millionaires in the United States, but there are many other parts of the world that hold some of the richest people in existence.

You’ll find that the statistics and demographics related to millionaires is a relatively diverse topic.

1. How Many Millionaires Are There in the U.S. & World?

In the United States, the most recent data states there are an estimated 22 million millionaires throughout the country.

This number has continued to increase, especially in recent years.

Between 2010 and 2020, the number of millionaires increased by 3 million during this time frame.

You might think that all millionaires in the U.S. are considered to be in the top 1%, but this actually isn’t true.

This title is reserved for multimillionaires, and the minimum amount to be in the top 1% by net worth is $11.1 million.

On a global scale, there are roughly 62.5 million people that are millionaires.

There are a few primary countries that play into this total, with the United States taking the lead majority.

In the list below, you can get a look at which countries have the most millionaires across the world.

• United States = 21.951 million
• China = 5.28 million
• Japan = 3.66 million
• Germany = 2.95 million
• United Kingdom = 2.49 million
• France = 2.47 million

Many other countries are a part of this list, and thanks to technology, becoming a millionaire is easier than it has ever been.

The U.S. accounts for 39.1% of the world’s millionaires.

Within the borders of this country, there are a few states that have the highest ratio of millionaire households per capita.

(Zippia/FinMasters)

2. U.S. States with the Most Millionaires

Although millionaires in the U.S. are spread throughout the country, you’ll find larger concentrations of them among a few key states.

When it’s based on households per capita, you might think Los Angeles or New York to be at the top of the list, but this isn’t true.

The top states with the most millionaires per capita include:

• New Jersey = 9.76%
• Maryland = 9.72%
• Connecticut = 9.44%
• Massachusetts = 9.38%
• Hawaii = 9.2%

I can tell you that some of this has to do with the geography of these states.

Each has something unique to offer, and a few of them have plenty of space for large pieces of land.

Nevertheless, these statistics show there are many more millionaires than you might expect in various parts of the United States. 

From a global perspective, millionaires control roughly 46% of wealth all over the world.

Moreover, if you were to bunch all of the millionaires together, that would amount to around $191.6 trillion.

(Zippia)

3. Millionaires by the Generation

You’ll find millionaires in essentially every age group, with the status being more common in some generations than others.

When you look at the top 100 richest people in the world, they all made their first $1 million by 37 on average.

However, the average millionaire, no matter where you look, is roughly 57.

Recent data that focused on different generations goes back to 2013.

At this time, 19% of millionaires are millennials.

This demographic included 18 to 31-year-olds.

42% of the millionaire population went to baby boomers, which at the time ranged from ages 57 to 75.

It’s evident why older generations would make up for more millionaires, but in recent years, younger millionaires are becoming increasingly more common.

There are also statistics you can review that display your chances of becoming a millionaire by race, age, and education level.

(Zippia/Statista)

What are Your Chances of Becoming a Millionaire?

To some people, becoming a millionaire seems entirely impossible.

However, statistics state otherwise, as there are multiple routes you can take to turn it into a reality.

Of course, there are a wide range of factors that play into what leads someone to become a millionaire.

Statistically speaking, aspects you can and can’t change about yourself factor into whether you’ll become a millionaire or not.

Data shows that White and Asian people have a higher chance of becoming a millionaire with more education under their belt.

For example, those who never finished high school will be far less likely to become a millionaire than someone who completed their Master’s degree.

However, the same can’t be said for Hispanic and Black communities.

Regardless of how much education they have, their chance of becoming a millionaire is rather slim.

There’s no doubt some of this comes down to some societal and cultural issues, but the numbers don’t lie.

For someone to become a millionaire, there are a lot of ladders that need to be climbed.

All it can take is for one person to get in the way and make your progress harder than it needs to be.

In the table below, you can get a look at the chances of becoming a millionaire based on race and education level.

	High School Diploma	Associate’s Degree	Bachelor’s Degree	Master’s Degree
White	5%	7%	18%	38%
Asian	6%	3%	16%	27%
Hispanic	2%	2%	4%	11%
Black	1%	1%	3%	6%

Each millionaire is bound to share some similar qualities, but you can expect them to manage their money in a variety of ways.

While some people love to spend, others primarily focus on investing to continue growing their wealth.

(FinancialSamurai)

4. How Millionaires Manage Their Money

One question that might be on your mind is how many millionaires inherited some or all of their wealth.

Well, you wouldn’t be wrong to make this assumption, as 21% of millionaires received some kind of inheritance to get there.

However, it should be noted that only 3% received an inheritance that was actually $1 million or more.

Aside from that, 79% of millionaires received no inheritance at all, and 8 out of 10 of them came from low-income families.

Some millionaires gradually worked their way up in the corporate world to reach that status.

For example, stats show that 31% of millionaires had a six-figure income at some point in their careers.

Although this is true, 93% of millionaires claim they didn’t hit that benchmark from their salary alone.

Roughly one-third of millionaires never had a six-figure income at any point in their lives, which shows how many actually come from the bottom of the barrel. 

When you think about someone who’s a millionaire, it makes you wonder how they decide to invest their money.

Especially considering the fact that they have so many different options on the table.

(FinMasters)

5. The Many Ways Millionaires Invest Their Money

It’s no secret that a majority of millionaires like to invest their money, and that’s in real estate.

A lucrative industry with short and long-term potential for gain, roughly 40% of millionaire’s assets are in the real estate sector.

Another preferred investment option which accounts for another 40%, is mutual fund shares and corporate equities.

The table below highlights the different types of investments millionaires have and the percentages that invest in these particular categories.

Investment	Percentage of Investment Portfolio
Real Estate	40%
Corporate Equities and Mutual Fund Shares	40%
Pension Entitlements	31%
Other Assets	25%
Private Businesses	16%
Consumer Durable Goods	8%

It goes to show that diversifying your asset portfolio is key to maintaining and growing such wealth.

Considering real estate is such a large part of a millionaire’s portfolio, it’s interesting to look at just how many properties they care to invest in.

• One property = 43%
• Two properties = 19%
• Three properties = 9%
• Four properties = 5%
• Five properties or more = 8.5%

It seems that some millionaires find one property to be all they need, while others like to have a few works in progress.

Although the term “millionaire” has a luxurious ring to it, there’s a certain threshold you have to hit before you’re actually considered rich.

One might argue this comes down to personal perspective, but statistically speaking, being rich considers a minimum net worth.

(FinMasters)

6. What Makes Someone Rich?

Unfortunately, surpassing the $1 million mile marker won’t automatically make you a part of the rich club, even if you think it does.

Of course, what makes someone rich will look different based on a variety of factors, the location being a big one.

In data pulled from 2022, a net worth of $2.2 million is needed before you’re considered rich to the general public.

On top of that, a minimum net worth of $774,000 is needed before you’re considered to be financially comfortable.

This may come as a shock to some readers, but it’s simply the truth as modern living only gets more and more expensive.

A lot of these sentiments are seen in more urban areas as well.

The average net worth that’s required to be considered rich varies quite a bit from state to state.

You can get a better look at this data in the list below.

Here’s the average net worth you need to be considered rich based on location:

• San Francisco – $5.1 million
• Southern California – $3.9 million
• New York – $3.4 million
• Washington DC – $3.3 million
• Seattle – $3.2 million

The list continues from there, but the entire list consists of more urban and developed areas.

It’s a common thought to move to a big city for the opportunity to make more money.

Funny enough, once a lot of people become millionaires, they look to leave the city and find some land in more rural areas.

(FinMasters)

Think Like a Millionaire

Looking at your statistical probability of becoming a millionaire isn’t the catalyst to what actually makes it happen for you.

It’s always wise to learn about how millionaires lived before and after the money.

Although there’s no direct blueprint to read from, learning about shared personality, behavior, or career patterns provides some actionable insight.

7. Taking a Look at Behavior Patterns

If you take a deep dive into the behavior patterns of millionaires, you’ll see quite a few trends among them.

One aspect is that many of them find education to be highly important.

Statistics prove this, as 84% of millionaires have some kind of college degree.

You might be surprised to learn that one in three millionaires funded their own college education without having to face any debt.

Make sure to stay away from get-rich-quick scams, as millionaires will tell you this isn’t the way to get it done.

Although there are unicorn stories of some people becoming rich overnight, this is rarely the circumstance. 

On average, current millionaires didn’t surpass the $1 million milestone until they were 32 years old.

80% of them didn’t reach $1 million until they were 50 years old, so it proves that it isn’t something that happens overnight, and it takes a lot of work and dedication.

They also make good use of their time for years on end.

Data shows that 67% of millionaires watch less than one hour of TV per day, and 63% spend less than an hour surfing the internet.

Another aspect that plays into their growing wealth is having more than one stream of income.

This is almost a requirement for anyone in this day and age.

65% of millionaires claim to have at least three streams of income.

To keep it all going, health is an equally important part of the equation, and millionaires agree.

76% of millionaires exercise at least four times per week, and you want to keep in mind there’s a reason why people say health is wealth.

Discipline is inevitably a part of becoming a millionaire as well.

A majority of millionaires grew up in disciplined environments.

76% mention that academic achievement is important, and 68% note that financial discipline should be another top priority. 

(MillionaireFoundry)

8. Beliefs and Life Choices

Each millionaire is bound to have their own unique personality, interests, and belief systems, but there are a few that are pretty common among the group.

74% of millionaires agree that they have a great balance between work on their personal life.

Interestingly, 48% of millionaires’ investable assets reside in the stock market.

It’s probably no secret that millionaires find gambling to be an entire waste of money.

74% of those who were surveyed mentioned they hadn’t spent a dime on gambling within the last year.

Some people assume that millionaires spend ridiculous amounts of money on vacations when on average, it’s a lot less than you might expect.

81% of millionaires generally spend less than $10,000 on vacations.

(MillionaireFoundry)

9. What Industries Do They Work In?

Among their several income streams, you can expect many millionaires to have their hands in a few different industries.

Of course, there are a few leading industries that are known for producing a decent majority of the world’s millionaires.

The top industries producing the most millionaires include the following:

• Finance and Investments
• Technology
• Manufacturing
• Fashion and Retail
• Healthcare

All of these industries come with numerous high demands all over the world.

They also have a knack for exceeding even when economic times are rough.

A few industries that are just under the top five include food and beverage and real estate.

This data gets even more specific when you look at what millionaires actually do within these industries.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that all millionaires ended up in some execute-level position before making their money, but this is actually a small percentage of the bunch.

Only 15% of surveyed millionaires mentioned that they currently hold executive leadership roles.

It’s important to point out that this includes any C-suite position, such as CEO, CFO, and other closely related positions.

The highest number of millionaires is produced by the finances and investments industry.

To provide more of an uncovered look at this industry, there are 371 billionaires that work in it.

You can only imagine how many millionaires are a part of this crowd.

Certain career paths are common for a lot of millionaires, with the top five being law, engineering, and accounting (CPA).

A lot of the data listed in this article so far covers data that spans the last ten years or so.

(Zippia)

Trends and Predictions on Millionaires

It’s noted that in 2020, 1.7 million new millionaires were recorded in the U.S., which accounts for one-third of the global number of new millionaires for that year.

On a worldwide scale, it’s expected that the number of millionaires will increase to 84 million by 2025.

This comes out to roughly a 50% increase from our current numbers.

Moreover, those who have a net worth of $30 million or more are expected to increase by 60% during that time.

If you look at data trends from 2000 to 2020, the aggregate wealth of millionaires globally has almost quadrupled in that time frame.

In dollar amounts, this statistic has increased from $41.5 trillion to $191.6 trillion.

In the same vein, millionaires’ share of the world’s wealth has expanded from 35% to 46% over the course of two decades.

More millionaires are coming to light with every passing day.

It was expected that from 2016 to 2020, 1,700 new millionaires would pop up on a daily basis.

On top of that, 79% of surveyed millionaires didn’t receive any kind of inheritance, which means their wealth came from years of hard work. 

It’s also important to note that 80% of these millionaires came from families that were below the middle class.

Only 2% of surveyed millionaires came from families that had a high income.

With the efficacy of technology and new opportunities emerging in the corporate world, it’s expected that the number of millionaires will increase. 

You can also thank technology for making it easier to become a millionaire at a younger age.

The hours put in and hard work is still required, but technology makes the process a lot more efficient than it has ever been.

If you consider all of the data in this article, it gives you a pretty good idea of where to look if you’re seeking to become a millionaire.

You don’t necessarily have to follow everyone else’s footsteps, but choosing the path of least resistance isn’t always the worst idea.

(Zippia)

Final Thoughts

Becoming a millionaire is a distant thought for many people worldwide, but it doesn’t have to be.

It may sound odd, but it’s a lot easier than people make it out to be.

It simply requires discipline and years of consistent effort toward that goal.

Nevertheless, there are many nuances and roadblocks to becoming a millionaire that make it a grueling challenge for anyone to accomplish.

This article highlighted millionaire statistics to show you how the demographic has evolved over the last ten to twenty years.

Sources

ZIPPIA	Statista	Millionaire Foundry
Financial Samurai	FinMasters