Here’s the income you need to be in the top 1%, 5%, and 10% in America — and 3 crucial tips to help you climb higher on the wealth ladder in 2025

Salaries start to jump significantly the closer you get to the top 1%. You’ll start to see dramatic shifts in the top 5%, where the EPI found the average earners significantly increased to $335,891 in 2021, up from $322,349 the year before.

While the income of the top 1% varies, Forbes reported in 2023 that the bracket's minimum net worth is much higher — a cool $11.1 million. Finding your way into these financial brackets isn’t impossible, especially if you use these three simple money-optimizing tactics.

3. Put your cash to work

If you think of savings as a seed, the best thing you can do to help them grow is to find some solid soil to plant them in.

A certificate of deposit (CD) can be a great place to start. A CD is a low-risk savings option that can yield interest comparable to, or even higher than, the top savings accounts. The trade-off for this higher rate is that your money stays locked in the account for a set period.

But which CD and what term should you choose?

With MyBankTracker you can shop and compare top certificates of deposit rates from various banks nationwide.

Their extensive database shows the most competitive rates, with daily rate updates and personalized recommendations based on your risk preferences and time horizon so you can find the right CD to meet your retirement savings goals.

If you want to grow your savings more efficiently, you can do just that with a high-yield cash account like the one offered by Wealthfront.

Wealthfront is a financial services platform offering a range of products, from automated investing to cash accounts. The Wealthfront Cash Account offers a 4.00% APY — that’s 10x the national average.

With full access to your money at all times, Wealthfront also offers fast (and free) transfers to internal Wealthfront investing accounts, as well as external accounts

To get started, you can fund your cash account with as little as $1 and start stacking up your savings.

If you’re still trying to decide where to park your hard-earned cash, don’t just let it sit in a low- or no-interest checking account.

Check out the Moneywise list of Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2025 so you can have a streamlined look at what high-yield savings account is best for your savings to grow over time.

Every little bit counts as you climb your way up the ladder to your preferred wealth bracket.

2. Diversify your portfolio

Now that you’ve made sure your savings are optimized, you can look at your investments.

While you might not have the same resources as investing legends like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, your wealth status doesn’t have to stop you from building a diversified portfolio and increasing your financial standing.

But how should you diversify?

Automate your saving and investing

If you are just starting to build your portfolio or you just want an easy way to diversify it, there’s a way to build your portfolio without even thinking about it, simply by making your daily purchases.

You don’t always have to put away large sums to move toward your retirement goals. Ten dollars a week could make a difference – if you’re smart about what to do with your spare change.

When you make a purchase on your credit or debit card, Acorns automatically rounds up the price to the nearest dollar and places the excess — the coins that would wind up in your pocket if you were paying cash — into a smart investment portfolio.

Let’s say you purchase a doughnut for $2.30. Before you’re done licking the sugar off your fingers, Acorns will round the amount to $3.00 and invest the 70-cent difference for you. Look at this math: $2.50 worth of daily round-ups add up to $900 per year — and that’s before your savings earn money in the market.

Plus, if you sign up now, you can get a $20 bonus investment.

Real estate

Federal Reserve data also shows that the top 1% of Americans hold over $6 trillion in real estate assets.

Real estate has long been considered a solid portfolio hedge, as rent and property values tend to increase with inflation. It’s no surprise that high-net-worth individuals — regardless of their age — see opportunity in this asset.

With the rising popularity of real estate crowdfunding platforms, you can diversify your portfolio with real estate at almost any wealth level.

If you are still a few income brackets from the top 10%, you can invest in real estate without having to pay a high price to buy and manage an investment property

For example, With Arrived, you can add rental properties to your investment portfolio for as little as $100 without needing to do any of the heavy lifting or legwork associated with being a landlord.

Arrived’s easy-to-use platform offers SEC-qualified investments such as rental homes and vacation rentals.

Its flexible investment amounts and simplified process allows accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work, like paying for maintenance or securing tenants.

Here’s how it works: You can start by browsing a curated selection of homes, vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, choose the number of shares you want to buy.