Americans think they need to earn $233,000 to live comfortably, and twice that to be rich (2024)

The average American believes he needs to raise $233,000 annually to live in financial comfortnew studyby YouGov for Bankrate, which surveyed more than 2,500 people. That's 310% more than the 2021 salary for the average full-time worker – $75,203 per month.Censusbureau.

And they think they have to earn twice as much to feelrich-$483,000. But they should save and invest strategically to actually build wealth; respondentsCharles Schwab's Modern Prosperity Survey 2023, which was released last month, said the minimum net worth they need to be rich is $2.2 million. The eye-popping numbers may not be a surprise, as a volatile economy riddled with fears of recession and layoffs has left many Bankrate respondents feeling financially insecure.

Inflation was the top thing respondents cited for their lack of financial security; 63% of them said it kept them from a comfortable financial situation. They also pointed to the current “economic climate,” their lack of adequate emergency and retirement savings, and rising interest rates.

“Being able to pay current expenses, save for retirement and emergencies, pay off debt, and keep some extra for the occasional 'dividend', whatever that may be, is more likely to be in line with are comfortable," Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate, wrote in the report. "Normally people fantasize about the idea of ​​becoming 'rich,' but most aspire to make ends meet or become a little better than that."

Other common culprits for workers at all income levels: low wages, lack of opportunities for upward career mobility, skyrocketing debt and lack of affordable housing. Nearly three-quarters of Bankrate respondents said they don't feel financially secure right now, but remain hopeful; almost half said they expect to reach that milestone “someday.”

The definition of empire is really a matter of opinion

Of course, the concept of being rich is subjective; and much of the definition of "rich" comes from comparison: people tend to estimate their own wealth by comparingwhat their best friends are doing.

And the more money Americans make per year, the more comfortable they will ultimately need to be about maintaining their lifestyle — much less feeling like they're wealthy, Bankrate notes. (This explains whylifestyle creepscan cause so many money problems that are difficult to solve; Once you raise your standard of living, it can be nearly impossible to bring it back.)

It also explains why Gen Xers demanded the highest salaries to feel comfortableInrich of $273,000 and $575,000 respectively. This makes sense considering they are in their prime earning years and likely at a stage of life where theyI can't resist spending a lot, where many often care for both their parents and their children. Baby Boomers told Bankrate they needed $240,000 to feel financially comfortable, Millennials said $224,000, and last but not least, Gen Z said $193,000. A similar pattern followed for the income each generation needed to feel rich. The average income needs of parents were obviously greater than those of parents without parents or of children with children over 18 years of age.

Bankrate also found a gender difference,reflects wage differences: Female respondents needed about $237,000 to feel safe, while men only needed $229,000. Black Americans, of any ethnic group, needed by far the most — $339,000 — to feel comfortable. (White Americans only needed $224,000 on average.)

Financial security can be a dream, even for HENRYs

The survey results show that in today's economy, $100,000 is no longer the dream salary it once was. Nicole Gopoian Wirick, founder of Prosperity Wealth Strategies, had the same purchasing power in 2000 as $175,000 today.fortalte Fortunes Alicia Adamczyk. People on six figures "probably lived very comfortably in 2000," says Gopoian Wirick, but today $100,000 "doesn't go as far as we think it should."

Many young workers, especially millennials who faced two recessions before middle age and racked up massive student debt, have spent their careers struggling to catch up on living expenses that only seem to be moving further and further out of reach. Many fit the definition of HENRY (High Earner Not Rich Yet), a term coined byFortuinen Shawn Tullyin 2008 to describe high-paid people who haven't saved enough to build much wealth. Today, the typical HENRY is a millennial with a six-figure income who still feels like he's living paycheck to paycheck.

Such a worker, Mirjam,Fortune said in April, earning a $100,000 salary felt like an "unattainable, life-changing thing." Then the other shoe dropped.

“Somehow you just get used to it and it becomes normal,” Miriam said. "Within the first two months, I thought, 'Wait what? I thought there was going to be a big pile of money in my checking account. It doesn't have the lasting power I thought it would have."

High six-figure incomes remain out of reach for most American workers, at least in the short term. But the pressure to keep earning more and more just to feel financially comfortable may explain the jump in popularityAdditional problems,poly worksor – if all else fails –marry rich.