Seven figure net worth is probably as close as you can come to “middle class,” at least in the more expensive states. In most areas, you’ll live comfortably but still have to work ~40 hrs/week until you’re 60-65.
Of course there are exceptions, if you have good employer insurance that doesn’t deny a quarter of all claims you might not go broke from medical expenses, but that also means paying a much higher monthly premium.
There’s also of course huge variety in the cost of living. A million dollars in Seattle or Los Angeles might get you a small house, but a million dollars in Atlanta or Indianapolis will get you something much nicer.
I consider $100k to be minimum wage in Seattle. It was just enough to not be constantly money stressed as long as I was living modestly. I could see doctors, invest in hobbies, have choices in food, build savings/retirement. Could not eat out every day, buy a house any time soon, or impulse buy particularly expensive stuff. Any time I made less than $100k here I felt like I was always two steps behind, at about that salary my life stopped focusing on scraping by. I make more now and I feel like I’m actually thriving here. Still quite a difference in what I’d consider to be middle class though like there’s no way I can get a house here and I’d for sure be much worse off if I had kids
It’s just amazing to see the difference to where I live in Europe. I’m below 100k, but our income is considered quite high and we just got a large-enough house for our family of five about 30 minutes (by car) away from our jobs. It’s staggering. Even more so if you consider that wages are said to be too high to be competitive.
Seven figure net worth is probably as close as you can come to “middle class,” at least in the more expensive states. In most areas, you’ll live comfortably but still have to work ~40 hrs/week until you’re 60-65.
Of course there are exceptions, if you have good employer insurance that doesn’t deny a quarter of all claims you might not go broke from medical expenses, but that also means paying a much higher monthly premium.
There’s also of course huge variety in the cost of living. A million dollars in Seattle or Los Angeles might get you a small house, but a million dollars in Atlanta or Indianapolis will get you something much nicer.
I consider $100k to be minimum wage in Seattle. It was just enough to not be constantly money stressed as long as I was living modestly. I could see doctors, invest in hobbies, have choices in food, build savings/retirement. Could not eat out every day, buy a house any time soon, or impulse buy particularly expensive stuff. Any time I made less than $100k here I felt like I was always two steps behind, at about that salary my life stopped focusing on scraping by. I make more now and I feel like I’m actually thriving here. Still quite a difference in what I’d consider to be middle class though like there’s no way I can get a house here and I’d for sure be much worse off if I had kids
It’s just amazing to see the difference to where I live in Europe. I’m below 100k, but our income is considered quite high and we just got a large-enough house for our family of five about 30 minutes (by car) away from our jobs. It’s staggering. Even more so if you consider that wages are said to be too high to be competitive.