What would you need to earn to feel financially secure? A quarter of Americans say $150,000 or more

Almost half of Americans (45%) think they would need to make $100,000 or more a year to “feel financially secure” or “comfortable,” according to a new survey from Bankrate.

Breaking that down further, a quarter of respondents in total (26%) put the number at $150,000 or more. Among them, 8% said they would need to earn between $200,000 and $499,999, while another 8% said $500,000 or more.

On the flip side, nearly half of respondents (45%) said they would feel financially secure making less than six figures, with 34% saying they would feel comfortable making between $50,00 and $99,999.

The online survey, conducted by YouGov and taken by 2,260 US adults in mid-May, also asked “What annual income would you need to feel rich/attain financial freedom?”

More than half (55%) put the number at $200,000 or more. Among them, a quarter (26%) said it would take at least $1 million a year, while 13% said they would need to earn somewhere between $500,000 and $999,999.

More than half of respondents (56%) said they needed to earn more than they are currently making to feel secure.

So what do Americans make in reality?

Based on the latest Census data, median US household income in 2023 was $80,610. That’s the mid-point on incomes, meaning half of US households made less.

But that median is across all households regardless of size.

In family households specifically — where two or more people live — the median was $102,800. Within that group, the highest median ($119,400) reported was among married couples.

In terms of individual incomes in 2023, the median income of a full-time worker with earnings working year round was $60,070.

Neither the Bankrate survey nor the respondents specified what was meant by the terms “financially secure” or “rich,” nor what financial freedom meant to them.

The answer, of course, will always be highly subjective.

How much you personally think you need is going to be influenced by many factors, including: Your current income, your age, whether you have children, where you live, how much debt you have and what your monthly expenses are. (Not to mention assets that contribute to your net worth, such as a 401(k) or brokerage account, a home or a business. But the survey didn’t address that issue.)

Among Bankrate survey respondents, 54% of those who already made $100,000 or more said they’d need to make at least $150,000 to feel financially secure.

Gen Xers (ages 45 to 60) were most likely (35%) to say they’d need to earn $150,000 or more to live comfortably, compared to 26% of millennials (ages 29 to 44) and 20% of Gen Zers (ages 18 to 28).

Among parents with children under 18, 35% indicated earning $150,000 or more a year would make them feel financially secure.

And those most likely to say they’d need to earn $1 million or more to feel financially free were parents whose children were 18 or older (33%).

Bankrate asked respondents how they would describe their current level of financial security.

Overall, most (77%) said they did not feel “completely financially secure,” including 32% who said they didn’t think they ever would.

Those most likely to say they did feel “completely financially secure” were people making at least $100,000. Within that income group, 42% of respondents said they considered themselves secure.

Only a quarter of those in the $50,000 to $79,999 income group and 12% of those making less than $50,000 said the same.

In terms of life stages, large majorities of each generation said they don’t feel financially secure, including 84% of Gen Xers; 80% of Gen Zers; 79% of millennials and 69% of Baby Boomers.

“Getting rich may have once been what many Americans fantasized about, but now, simply living comfortably feels like the new aspiration, as economic challenges make financial stability a rare luxury,” said Bankrate economic analyst Sarah Foster.

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