Survey: More Than 1 In 4 Americans Feel They Need To Make $150,000 Or More To Live Comfortably

Financial security shouldn’t just be nice to have — ideally, it should be attainable for all Americans. But as high prices, tariffs and economic uncertainty reignite concerns of a recession, the majority of U.S. adults (77 percent) today say they aren’t completely financially secure, according to Bankrate’s new Financial Freedom Survey. What’s worse, even as the inflation rate has eased since a 2022 high, the percentage of Americans who say they aren’t financially secure has climbed over the past few years, from 72 percent in 2023 and 75 percent in 2024.

Part of the reason why so many people feel financially insecure could be that rapid inflation over the past three years has eroded households’ purchasing power, making it harder for Americans to afford their lifestyles on their current salaries. For example, a $100,000 salary in January 2020 has the same buying power as $124,353 in April 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In other words, if you haven’t received a raise since 2020, higher inflation feels like losing $24,000 of your salary.

“Many people need to spend more and more every year,” because of inflation, says Wookjae Heo, an assistant professor of financial counseling and planning at the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences. “However, their income has not increased a lot. Most people’s salary is (static).”

One of the easiest ways Americans could feel more financially secure is through a pay bump — but it would have to be a big one. More than 1 in 4 (26 percent) U.S. adults say they would need to make $150,000 or more per year to feel financially secure/comfortable. That’s nearly twice the typical national salary: The average full-time, year-round worker made $81,515 in 2023, according to the latest estimates from the BLS.

However, thanks to market uncertainty, companies are slowing or pausing hiring, which means many people may have difficulty switching jobs to something more lucrative. Amid a sluggish job market, especially for white-collar and federal workers, it won’t be easy for many workers to easily earn a higher salary and get to that six figures they want.

Bankrate’s insights on financial freedom

Women, Gen Xers are likeliest to feel financially insecure

The majority (77 percent) of U.S. adults say they aren’t completely financially secure: 45 percent say they are not completely financially secure but will be someday, and 32 percent say they are not completely financially secure and likely never will be. The percentage of Americans who believe they’ll never achieve financial security has risen over the years, from 26 percent in 2023 and 30 percent in 2024.

Only 23 percent of Americans say they are completely financially secure:

Source: Bankrate’s Financial Freedom Survey, May 14-16, 2025

“Most of us know comfortability when we see it. It’s a financial sweet spot that allows us to cover our bills, sock cash away for retirement or emergencies, conquer debt — or dodge it entirely — and still have enough wiggle room for the occasional indulgence,” Bankrate U.S. Economy Reporter Sarah Foster says. “Times have shifted.”

Generation-wise, Gen Xers (ages 45-60) are the likeliest to say they are not completely financially secure currently (84 percent), compared to 80 percent of Gen Zers (ages 18-28), 79 percent of millennials (ages 29-44) and 69 percent of baby boomers (ages 61-79).

On the other hand, baby boomers are the likeliest generation to say they feel completely financially secure (31 percent), compared to 21 percent of millennials, 20 percent of Gen Zers and 16 percent of Gen Xers.

More than 1 in 3 (35 percent) women say they aren’t financially secure and never will be, compared to 29 percent of men.

Also, women are less likely to feel completely financially secure than men — and the percentage is dropping quicker than it is for men:

Americans who say they are financially secure, by year and gender

Source: Bankrate’s Financial Freedom Survey, May 14-16, 2025

• Financial security, by income level
  

  About 2 in 5 (42 percent) Americans making $100,000 or more per year say they are completely financially secure, compared to only 12 percent of Americans making under $50,000 a year. The percentage of people who make less than $50,000 a year and say they’re completely financially secure has fallen over the years, from 17 percent in 2023 and 15 percent in 2024.

  Additionally, 25 percent of people making between $50,000 and $79,999 per year and 34 percent of people making between $80,000 and $99,999 say they’re financially secure.

Many people think a six-figure income would bring them financial comfort

Financial comfort means something different to everyone, but when asked, nearly half (45 percent) of Americans say they would need to make a six-figure income ($100,000 or more per year) to feel financially secure/comfortable. This includes 16 percent who say they would need to make $200,000 or more, and 8 percent say they would need to make $500,000 or more.

Source: Bankrate’s Financial Freedom Survey, May 14-16, 2025

More than half of Americans (56 percent) say they need more than they’re currently earning to feel financially secure/comfortable.

Generationally, for the third year in a row, Gen Xers reported needing the most to feel financially secure/comfortable: 35 percent say they need to make $150,000 or more to feel financially secure/comfortable, compared to 24 percent of baby boomers, 26 percent of millennials and 20 percent of Gen Zers.

While around half of men (48 percent) say they need to make $100,000 or more to feel financially secure/comfortable, 42 percent of women say the same. Men are likeliest (22 percent) to say they need to make between $100,000 and $149,999 to feel financially secure/comfortable, while women are likeliest to say they need to make between $50,000 and $79,999 (21 percent).

More than half of Americans would need at least $200K to feel rich

There’s a massive gap between what salaries would make people feel comfortable and what would make them feel rich. More than 1 in 4 Americans (26 percent) say they would need to make at least $1 million per year to feel rich or financially free.

Meanwhile, 55 percent of Americans say they would need to make $200,000 or more to feel rich or financially free, and 39 percent say they would need to make $500,000 or more.

Generationally, more than one-third (37 percent) of Gen Xers say they would need to make $1 million or more to feel rich or financially free, compared to 27 percent of baby boomers, 23 percent of millennials and 18 percent of Gen Zers. A similar percentage of men and women say they need to make $1 million or more to feel rich or financially free (27 percent and 25 percent, respectively).

How one single mom feels at risk due to her finances

Tiffany Morrison, a 38-year-old in Ocala, Florida, puts it best herself: “I’m one paycheck from losing it all.”

Morrison, a single mom of a 15-year-old daughter and a title agent for a real estate company, is one of the 88 percent of people making under $50,000 per year who feel financially insecure. She makes $49,000 a year and, like many lower-income people, tries to save, but emergencies keep setting her back. She only has $500 in savings, thanks to a recent $1,000 car repair bill. It took her eight months to save that $1,500 in the first place.

If Morrison has an unexpected emergency, such as car problem, that could cost more than her entire paycheck and set her back on her bills, she says.

“It becomes a trickle(-down) effect,” Morrison says. “Once you miss one bill, you have to play catch-up, then (the companies) add late fees on. That’s probably where the uncomfortable area comes in.”

For many, saving more money isn’t as simple as spending less on frivolous purchases. But Morrison has used several strategies to help her save more money — she’s moved to a cheaper rental, canceled subscriptions, changed phone plans and used other strategies to save money. In addition, she opened up a high-yield savings account (HYSA), which provides a higher interest rate on her savings than a traditional savings account, and has given her savings a much-needed boost.

Despite all of this, her budget is still uncomfortably tight. If she made $100,000 a year, she says, that would put her in a much more comfortable place financially.

“I think I would be able to save money (and) have a more reliable vehicle,” she says.

As is the case for many low-income Americans, reaching Morrison’s desired salary would be difficult. Her current role doesn’t offer enough upward mobility to receive a major raise, she says. She would love to work in the nonprofit space, but nonprofits are notoriously low-paying. Alternatively, she’d like to turn her social media content creation side hustle into a full-time job.

In the meantime, Morrison leans on self-taught personal finance advice to get her through payday after payday, even though it’s taken some sacrifices.

“I don’t give myself enough credit for the work that I’ve done. I’ve seen my own growth recently. I started on my emergency fund knowing that I still don’t have a very reliable car,” she says. “I’ve just changed my mindset now to: Everything always works out.”

More Gen Zers believe their version of the ‘American Dream’ is still alive compared to other generations

The “American Dream” can look different from person to person — whether it involves immigrating to the U.S. for more opportunities, buying a home or retiring early. Whatever someone’s vision of the American Dream is, only 29 percent of Americans believe their version is likely in today’s economy.

Source: Bankrate’s Financial Freedom Survey, May 14-16, 2025

The youngest American adults are the likeliest to still have hope for the American Dream. Over a third of Gen Z (36 percent) say their version of the American dream is likely in today’s economy, compared to 27 percent of millennials, 26 percent of Gen Xers and 27 percent of baby boomers.

Income-wise, more than half (56 percent) of those making under $50,000 a year say it’s unlikely that they’ll achieve their version of the American Dream.

“Though many Americans hold onto the idea of returning to a 1950s-era ‘Golden’ America age, the days when a single, non-college educated breadwinner could sustain an entire family seem like they may be confined forever to the past,” Foster says.

3 things you can do to feel more financially comfortable

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving financial comfort — what financial comfort means will look different for everyone. For one person, it might be paying all their bills on time, every time, while for another, it may be buying a large house and going on vacations whenever they can.

These steps can help you figure out what financial comfort means to you and how you can get there.

1. Figure out your financial goals

To avoid creating a goal that you can’t meet, financial goals should be realistically attainable and set within a certain timeframe.

For instance, if you make a relatively low salary today, setting a goal of tripling your salary in six months is likely unrealistic. On the other hand, setting a goal of asking for a raise in the next year is a much more attainable goal for most people.

Some examples of financial goals are:

• Go back to school for a master’s degree within the next two years to increase your earning potential.
• Pay off $3,000 of credit card debt in six months.
• Save three months of expenses (or $15,000) in one year for an emergency savings fund.
• Save for a down payment (or $20,000) on a house in five years.
• Max out your 401(k) contributions this year.

If you need help understanding what financial goals would be best for you, consider seeking the services of a financial advisor, who could look at your entire financial picture and give you personalized advice based on your situation. Be sure to prioritize hiring a fee-only advisor, who only receives compensation based on a flat fee, and typically acts in their clients’ best interests.

2. Determine achievable ways to meet your goals

Once you know your financial goals, you can start crafting your plan to meet them. For example:

If your goal is to pay off debt, you can…

• Set a goal to pay off your debt within a certain timeframe and stick to it. For example, if your goal is to pay off $3,000 of debt in six months, and you’re paid bimonthly, you should set an automatic payment of $250 every time you’re paid to go towards your debt.
• If you have several sources of debt (for example, student loan debt and credit card debt), you can consider the snowball or avalanche debt repayment methods. The snowball method prioritizes your debts from the smallest balance to the largest balance. The avalanche method prioritizes your debts from the largest annual percentage rate (APR) to the smallest APR.

If your goal is to save more money, you can…

• Switch to a HYSA, which will provide a higher interest rate on your rainy day fund than a traditional savings account.
• Pay yourself first: Set up a recurring transfer from your checking account to your savings account each month and don’t touch it. Alternatively, you can split up your direct deposit to put some of the funds in your savings account directly.

If your goal is to make more money, you can…

If your goal is to invest more for retirement, you can…

• Max out your 401(k) for the year. (The cap for 2025 is $23,500.)
• Open a Roth IRA, which allows you to deposit after-tax income and take it out at retirement tax-free.

3. Avoid lifestyle creep

Not all lifestyle creep is bad — for example, as your income rises, you may want to replace your old beater car with a nicer vehicle or buy more fresh and organic foods for your family. But if your spending continues to rise as you earn more money throughout your career, you may not ever get to a point where you feel financially secure.

“As our income rises, so does our vision of comfort. With each pay bump, the lure of a grander lifestyle can be irresistible — especially after periods of restraining ourselves,” Foster says. “Not to mention, we all deserve to reward ourselves with our hard-earned money. But this ‘lifestyle inflation’ can sometimes pose as many risks to our finances as actual inflation.”

To avoid lifestyle creep, instead of spending more when you receive a yearly raise or bonus, try funneling that money toward investments or savings instead. You can break the funds up: For example, if you receive a $10,000 yearly bonus, you could put $5,000 towards savings, $3,000 to meet your yearly Roth IRA cap and spend the rest. Similarly, if you receive a raise that increases your paycheck by $200 a pay period, you could put that money toward savings and keep your spending habits the same.

• Methodology
  

  Bankrate commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct the survey. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2,260 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14th – 16th May 2025.  The survey was carried out online and meets rigorous quality standards. It employed a non-probability-based sample using both quotas upfront during collection and then a weighting scheme on the back end designed and proven to provide nationally representative results.