Brands
The Behaviors, Attitudes and Favorite Brands of the Wealthiest Consumers
Report summary
The last few years have been turbulent for the consumer economy, and with new bumps in the road thanks to tariff-driven inflation, brands need to get to know the consumers best positioned to keep spending through it.
While there’s certainly wiggle room in what “wealthy” means — varying greatly based on where someone lives and how many dependents they have, among other things — for the purposes of this analysis, we’re focusing on American consumers that make a minimum annual household income of $250,000.
Based on Morning Consult Audience data of over 26,000 U.S. adults in households earning $250,000 or more, this report reveals the consumption behaviors, psychographic profiles, political attitudes and favorite brands of the wealthiest consumers.
Key Takeaways
- This cohort are extremely optimistic consumers. This bracket is relatively insulated from the day-to-day budgetary challenges caused by inflation and high interest rates, and thus have a sunny outlook on their finances.
- Status signaling and competition drives consumption. The psychographic profile of high earners reveals a status-oriented, competitive mindset, particularly among Gen Zers, millennials and men.
- Millennials and women skew more liberal. Concerns about health care and women’s issues differentiate these high earners’ voting patterns.
- High earners favor luxury hotel brands. The overall high earner segment shows standout net favorability for luxury hotels, but the Gen Zers and millennials among them favor tech, universities and snack foods.
Methodology
The audience and brand data in this report comes from Morning Consult Intelligence. The platform helps you understand your audience, brand, competitors and market in a way traditional helps you understand your brand, competitors and market in a way traditional research companies can’t.
- The standout brand lists draw from data collected Jan. 1, 2020 – Apr. 23, 2025. Brands with fewer than 200 survey responses were not included.
- All other data was collected Apr. 15, 2024 – Apr. 15, 2025, among 26,581 U.S. adults with a household income of $250,000 or more annually.
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