Median Salary in the U.S. (2023)

FAQs

What percentage of Americans make over 100k? ›

In the US, 18% of individual Americans and 34.4% of households make $100k per year or more. This number has increased by 2.97% in the past five years and has nearly doubled since 1980. However, that doesn't mean all $100k+ earners are evenly spread.

In the U.S., the Middle Class constitutes any income between $42,000 and $126,000. Overall, the highest percentage of Americans (16.5%) have an income between $50,000-$74,999. With the second and third highest percentages being those who make between $75,000-$99,999 (12.2%) and $100,000-$149,000 (15.3%).

The median American worker brings home an estimated $54,132 a year. Salary figures vary significantly depending on location, education and other factors.

From the top 5% to the top 1%

You'll start to see dramatic shifts in the top 5%, where the EPI found the average earners significantly increased to $343,000 in 2020, up from $324,000 the year before.

According to Zippia, roughly 33.6% of Americans make six figures annually. And 15% of those earn between $100,000 to $150,000. As for how many Americans have a net worth of over one million dollars, 9% fell within that category in 2020.

Based on Pew's analysis, a household of three needs an income of $156,600 to meet the definition of upper class, which amounts to more than double the national median.

Anyone who makes 80 K a year is considered to be in the middle class no matter where they live in the US. This is because you only go above the middle class if you are making $175,000 a year on average.

If you're earning $75,000 each year, you're doing a bit better than half the country. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in 2021 stood at $70,784, so that extra $4,216 puts you in the upper 50 percent of earners.

What salary is middle class? ›

Pew defines “middle class” as those earning between two-thirds and twice the median American household income, which in 2021 was $70,784, according to the United States Census Bureau. That means American households earning as little as $47,189 and up to $141,568 are technically in the middle class.

Across the US, the average income for the top 2% of all earners is $206,000.

Men tend to have more money stashed away than women, in large part due to the gender pay gap. Looking at the gap differently, 16% of male workers earn at least six figures, compared with 7% of female workers. And 4% of men land above the $200,000 income threshold, compared with 1% of women.

Only 7% of all 30-year-olds earn $100k or more per year. This number jumps to 15% for 40-year-olds, 16% for 50-year-olds, and reaches a max of 21% for 66-year-olds.

In today's economy, $100,000 is considered middle class in the US.

According to the IRS, a $400,000 or more annual household income represents America's top 1.8% income-earners. Per IRS Publication 6292, there were 154 million tax returns filed in 2019, thus approximately 2.8 million people earn over $400,000. 330 million people live in the United States.

Across the entire country, that range is between $47,189 and $141,568, based on Census Bureau income data. But $150,000 is still a middle-class income by Pew's definition in nearly half of the country's 50 most-populated metropolitan areas, where incomes tend to be high.

What percentage of Americans make over 300k? ›

Annual income often comes in rounded numbers, as seen in the spikes sticking out at each $10,000. More round numbers at the $150,000 and $200,000 marks. About 2% of employed people made $300,000 or more in total income.

Average Salary for Ages 25-34

For Americans ages 25 to 34, the median salary is $1,003 per week or $52,156 per year.

According to a recent study by personal finance website SmartAsset, an American family needed to earn $597,815 in 2021 to be in the top 1% nationally.

By age 40, your goal is to have a net worth of two times your annual salary. So, if your salary edges up to $80,000 in your 30s, then by age 40 you should strive for a net worth of $160,000.

According to Schwab's 2022 Modern Wealth Survey (opens in new tab), Americans believe it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy.

One objective way some researchers divide individuals into economic classes is by looking at their incomes. From that data, they split earners into different classes: poor, lower-middle class, middle class, upper-middle class and wealthy.

In 2021, the median household income is roughly $68,000. An upper class income is usually considered at least 50% higher than the median household income. Therefore, an upper class income in America is $100,000 and higher.

What house can I afford on 100K a year? ›

A 100K salary means you can afford a $350,000 to $500,000 house, assuming you stick with the 28% rule that most experts recommend. This would mean you would spend around $2,300 per month on your house and have a down payment of 5% to 20%.

$80,000 is $40.00 an hour.

$40.00 is the hourly wage a person who earns a $80,000 salary will make if they work 2,000 hours in a year for an average of 40 hours per week, with two weeks of total holidays. We take the annual salary of $80,000 and divide it by 2,000 to get to a $40.00 hourly rate.

If you're an aspiring homeowner, you may be asking yourself, “I make $70,000 a year: how much house can I afford?” If you make $70K a year, you can likely afford a home between $290,000 and $360,000*. That's a monthly house payment between $2,000 and $2,500 a month, depending on your personal finances.

The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households that earn between two-thirds and double the median U.S. household income, which was $65,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 21 Using Pew's yardstick, middle income is made up of people who make between $43,350 and $130,000.

The median hourly wage of today's working class is $15.75—a full $1.44 less than in 1980, after adjusting for inflation. 16 Today more than one-third of full-time workers earn less than $15 an hour, and fully 47 percent of all workers earn less than $15 an hour.

From career achievements to family milestones, these are the years in which you'll see the hard work you put in during your 20s and 30s really start to pay off. These decades are known as your peak earning years, as full-time workers with bachelor's degrees tend to make the most money in their 40s and 50s.

So to answer the question, we believe having one to one-and-a-half times your income saved for retirement by age 35 is a reasonable target. By age 50, you would be considered on track if you have three to six times your preretirement gross income saved.

One popular rule is the 70% rule. Another rule is the 50/30/20 rule. This rule breaks down your income as follows: Your net worth should be 1.5x your annual income at age 30.

In fact, the minimum threshold to be among the top 20% of earners nationwide ($130,545) is more than two times greater than the median household income and nearly five times greater than the maximum threshold to be among the bottom 20% of earners nationwide ($26,685).

What defines you as upper class? ›

The term upper class is a socioeconomic term used to describe those who reside on the highest levels of the social ladder above the middle and working or lower classes. They generally have the highest status in society and hold a great deal of wealth.

Included in this amount are all salaries and wages, but also other unearned income on investments or capital gains. The average gross annual wage per full-time employee in the USA was $74,738 in 2021, or around $6,228 per month ($4,648/year more than in the previous year).

Over one quarter, 28.5%, of all income was earned by the top 8%, those households earning more than $150,000 a year. The top 3.65%, with incomes over $200,000, earned 17.5%. Households with annual incomes from $50,000 to $75,000, 18.2% of households, earned 16.5% of all income.

Earning seven figures means bringing in between one and $9.9 million per year. Only very few ever reach this level of income and the vast majority of the population of the world outside the US might not even earn this much money in their whole life.

The average age to make six figures is typically in the late-30s or early 40s, but it is possible to make six figures earlier if you are exceptionally successful. This is because many people cannot find a job that pays this much money right out of college. It takes time and experience to land a high-paying job.

To put $100,000 into context, it is just above what many families earn these days. The median income for families (including single parents) was $91,000 in 2021, according to data from the Census Bureau, and about 45% of families earned $100,000 or more last year.

How many people made $100,000 or more in 2022? 31,779,702 workers, or 18.0% of all individual workers, made a six-figure income.

Is a six figure salary good? ›

Earning a six-figure salary may still be a sign of status and success, but it comes up short in guaranteeing a comfortable lifestyle in many parts of the country. A 2020 analysis by GOBankingRates questioned whether the American dream was still affordable in any state.

Only 7% of all 30-year-olds earn $100k or more per year. This number jumps to 15% for 40-year-olds, 16% for 50-year-olds, and reaches a max of 21% for 66-year-olds.

$100,000 is $48.08 an hour without vacation time.

If you work a full 40-hour week for 52 weeks, that amounts to 2,080 hours of work. So $100,000 a year in income divided by 2,080 is a $48.08 hourly wage.

Many have graduate degrees with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly exceed $100,000, with some smaller one-income earners household having incomes in the high 5-figure range.

How to Make the Top 1% List. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual wage of the top 1% was $823,763 as of 2020.1 A more recent study by SmartAsset points out that the national average of the top 1% earners is $597,815.2 Have in mind that the figures vary greatly from state to state.

People with the top 1% of net worth (opens in new tab) in the U.S. in 2022 had $10,815,000 in net worth. The top 2% had a net worth of $2,472,000. The top 5% had $1,030,000. The top 10% had $854,900.

The current world population (as of March of 2022) is estimated at 7.9 billion. Therefore, 1% of the world population would be about 79 million people.