What is an income percentile?
Read a percentile as a position, not an amount or an income share.
By RankMyIncome · Updated 22 October 2026
A position in a distribution
The 90th percentile is the boundary with about 90% of the reference population below it. The same boundary is commonly described as the entry to the top 10%. RankMyIncome displays the top percentage, so a smaller displayed percentage means a higher position. A change from top 20% to top 10% is a gain of 10 percentile points; it does not mean that income rose by 10%.
Read a real threshold
In the imported 2024 United States series, the median is USD 52,806 and p90 is USD 174,245. The first describes the middle adult under this dataset’s definition; the second marks entry to the top tenth. Dividing either annual amount by 12 gives a monthly equivalent, not monthly take-home pay. Inspect the full US table.
Check who is being ranked
Before comparing two results, check their population, income definition, year and currency. A wage calculator for full-time employees answers a different question from an adult national-income calculator. A household ranking uses another unit. RankMyIncome uses WID pre-tax national income for equal-split adults aged 20 and over, a broader concept than salary alone.
Understand estimates
Between published points the site uses its existing logarithmic interpolation. Outside their range, it uses extrapolation and labels the greater uncertainty. Small differences in a displayed rank should not be treated as precise measurements of personal circumstances. Find a rank from an income, then work backward from a target using the same country and dataset.
Sources and calculation notes
Numerical examples use the public dataset shared by all tools. Definitions: WID methodology and codes dictionary. Calculations: RankMyIncome source code. Hypothetical scenarios illustrate arithmetic, not observed market salaries.