People outside Connecticut think the state is one big sanctuary for billionaires but we know the truth.There is a lot of regular-ass folks that live here and work extra hard to stay. We work to keep our heads above water and it's not easy.
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Recently, I found two studies that came out days apart that highlight some of the financial difficulties here in the Nutmeg State.
Study #1 What it Takes to Be Considered Rich in Connecticut
GoBankingRates conducted a study to find out how much you need to make to be considered rich in each state. They determined Connecticut's threshold is bonkers. To be considered rich in Connecticut, you need to make $656,438 or more each year. Our neighbors in New York, need to make $621,301.
Other key findings
- In 2017, only Connecticut and the District of Columbia (D.C.) had median incomes of the top 5% of $500,000-plus. Just five years later in 2022, this number rose to 12 U.S. states. The median income of the top 5% in Washington, California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Virginia, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut and the District of Columbiais more than $500,000-plus annually.
Study #2 - A Lifetime of Taxes in Connecticut
Self ran a study to see how much the average person will pay in taxes over their lifetime. They released stats for each state and Connecticut was the 3rd highest in the nation. The average Connecticut resident will pay $855,307. Our neighbors in New York had the 5th highest tax bill in America with a total of $748,199.
Other key findings
- The highest lifetime tax bill is in New Jersey with a total of $987,117.The average taxpayer in the U.S. will spend an estimated $524,625, around a third (34.7%) of all estimated lifetime earnings ($1,494,986) on various state and federal taxes.
We have a term for this type of news on the I-95 Morning Show. This is what we call "Big Fear" content. If you're not afraid after reading this, you're probably tripping b---s right now.
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5 of CT's Richest Billionaires, Most of Them Live on Gold Coast
According to Wise Voter, Connecticut is the 7th richest state in the nation and one region called the Gold Coast is the main source of most of the riches. You know the names Greenwich & Darien, these places are talked about like they are mythical lands, but they are real and so are the humans that inhabit them. Here are a few of those people, these are 5 of CT's Richest Billionaires.
Gallery Credit: Lou Milano
5 Fascinating Filthy Rich Financial Stats From CT
There are people who aren't from here that make a lot of assumptions and broad generalizations about the Nutmeg State. When they say we are all just a bunch of rich, country club types I take the time to correct them and give them some of the insider perspective.
However, the numbers are the numbers and by the book we are a lot of the things they call us. I'm not a wealthy person, I never attended a private school, I did not go to an elite east coast University and I've never been a member of a country club. However, examining the financial stats from Connecticut makes me feel like I must have made a few missteps along the way. There is an ungodly amount of money in this state. Here are 5 Fascinating Filthy Rich Financial Stats from CT.
Gallery Credit: Lou Milano
In the Shadows of Wealth: Connecticut's 10 Most Impoverished Neighborhoods
The pockets of wealth in Connecticut are off the charts and that is the perception of our state in the rest of the country. Many Americans from other regions make assumptions about life in the Nutmeg State that we know are far from the truth. There are pristine communities where the rich and the powerful play with their toys and then there is everyone else. That division, that difference is extreme but for some it must seem even more desperate. These are the communities they don't tell people about, Connecticut's 10 Most Impoverished Neighborhoods.
Gallery Credit: Lou Milano
