The most popular TV shows based on how much money you make

Jethro Nededog
Updated

In these divisive political times, it's interesting to know that Americans can come together around our common love of television.

Even as cable subscription rates rise, TV is still very accessible to all kinds of people with various levels of income. And there are so many choices (and price points) today from cable to online and streaming.

So which shows are most popular across different household incomes? And what shows prove more popular in certain income groups?

Business Insider partnered with Viant, a Time Inc.-owned advertising technology company, which analyzed viewing on smart TVs and cross-referenced that data with credit reporting company Experian to find the shows that indexed the highest in the following household income levels: less than $50,000; $50,000 to $75,000; $75,000 to $125,000; and more than $125,000.

We then assigned the shows a score according to where they landed among the income levels and ranked them. Some shows seem pretty predictable, such as the massive popularity across the board for CBS's "The Big Bang Theory." Others are surprising, such as Fox's "Lethal Weapon" reboot and NBC's "The Voice."

Here are the top shows on television according to how much you make (the full lists by income bracket are at the bottom):

Note: This list doesn't include news, sports, and non-primetime programming.​​​​​​

See below for the top primetime TV shows in each income group we looked at:

Less than $50,000.

1. "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
2. "Modern Family" (ABC)
3. "Criminal Minds" (CBS)
4. "Law & Order: SVU" (NBC)
5. "The Simpsons" (Fox)
6. "Blue Bloods" (CBS)
7. "NCIS" (CBS)
8. "Lethal Weapon" (Fox)
9. "Family Guy" (Fox)
10. "Empire" (Fox)
11. "The Voice" (NBC)

$50,000 to $75,000

1. "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
2. "Modern Family" (ABC)
3. "Criminal Minds" (CBS)
4. "Law & Order: SVU" (NBC)
5. "The Simpsons" (Fox)
6. "Blue Bloods" (CBS)
7. "NCIS" (CBS)
8. "Lethal Weapon" (Fox)
9. "Family Guy" (Fox)
10. "Empire" (Fox)
11. "The Voice" (NBC)

$75,000 to $125,000

1. "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
2. "Modern Family" (ABC)
3. "The Simpsons" (Fox)
4. "Criminal Minds" (CBS)
5. "Law & Order: SVU" (NBC)
6. "Blue Bloods" (CBS)
7. "NCIS" (CBS)
8. "Lethal Weapon" (Fox)
9. "Empire" (Fox)
10. "Family Guy" (Fox)
11. "The Voice" (NBC)

More than $125,000

1. "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
2. "Modern Family" (ABC)
3. "The Simpsons" (Fox)
4. "Law & Order: SVU" (NBC)
5. "Criminal Minds" (CBS)
6. "Blue Bloods" (CBS)
7. "NCIS" (CBS)
8. "Lethal Weapon" (Fox)
9. "The Voice" (NBC)
10. "Empire" (Fox)
11. "Family Guy" (Fox)

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