How America's Highest Earners Think and Spend
The behaviors, demographics and brand preferences of consumers earning $200k a year or more.
This report draws on Morning Consult Intelligence data from 50,653 U.S. adults earning $200K+ surveyed throughout 2025, spanning more than 1,500 brands across financial services, travel, retail, and dining. What emerges is a portrait of a segment defined not just by income, but by distinct psychology, digital habits, and generational fault lines that are quietly reshaping who the wealthy are — and what they want.
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High-income consumers skew male, married, educated, and suburban, with a strong orientation toward quality, control, and status. They are avid travelers, sophisticated investors, and digitally engaged in ways that favor professional and utility-driven platforms over pure entertainment. Premium travel and financial services brands attract the highest over-indexing among this group, while traditional quick-service restaurant chains tend to fall flat.
But the segment is also evolving. The Young Wealthy — those under 40 earning $200K+ — are more racially diverse, more status-driven, less invested, and more inclined to spend conspicuously than their older peers. And while high-income consumer sentiment surged after the 2024 election, it has since retreated, suggesting that even the most financially comfortable Americans are not immune to macroeconomic uncertainty.
Deep insights about the behaviors, psychographics & demographics of high-income consumers
Analysis of purchasing consideration across over 1,500 brands, including standout brands and more
Authors
Bobby Blanchard
Sr. Director of Audience Development
Nicholas Laughlin
VP, Content