Here’s how much money it takes to be considered wealthy in 13 major U.S. cities (2024)

FAQs

Here’s how much money it takes to be considered wealthy in 13 major U.S. cities? ›

According to Schwab's 2023 Modern Wealth Survey, Americans perceive an average net worth of $2.2 million as wealthy​​​​. Knight Frank's research indicates that a net worth of $4.4 million is required to be in the top 1% in America, a figure much higher than in countries like Japan, the U.K. and Australia​​.

According to Schwab's 2023 Modern Wealth Survey, Americans perceive an average net worth of $2.2 million as wealthy​​​​. Knight Frank's research indicates that a net worth of $4.4 million is required to be in the top 1% in America, a figure much higher than in countries like Japan, the U.K. and Australia​​.

$2.2 million

That's how much net worth an American needs to be considered wealthy in 2023, according to the Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey. The survey, which polled more than 1,000 adults online in March, asked Americans how much money a person in their area would need to be wealthy. It's an annual survey.

Top 2% wealth: The top 2% of Americans have a net worth of about $2.472 million, aligning closely with the surveyed perception of wealth. Top 5% wealth: The next tier, the top 5%, has a net worth of around $1.03 million. Top 10% wealth: The top 10% of the population has a net worth of approximately $854,900.

Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million. Therefore, about 2% of the population possesses enough wealth to meet the current definition of being rich.

Upper middle class: Anyone with earnings in the 60th to 80th percentile would be considered upper middle class. Those in the upper middle class have incomes between $89,745 and $149,131. Upper class: Finally, the upper class is the top 20% of earners and they have incomes of $149,132 or higher.

Household wealth or net worth is the value of assets owned by every member of the household minus their debt. The terms are used interchangeably in this report. Assets include owned homes, vehicles, financial accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and more.

For savings, aim to keep three to six months' worth of expenses in a high-yield savings account, but note that any amount can be beneficial in a financial emergency. For checking, an ideal amount is generally one to two months' worth of living expenses plus a 30% buffer.

Someone who has $1 million in liquid assets, for instance, is usually considered to be a high net worth (HNW) individual. You might need $5 million to $10 million to qualify as having a very high net worth while it may take $30 million or more to be considered ultra-high net worth.

Am I rich if I have $5 million dollars? ›

According to Schwab's 2023 Modern Wealth Survey, its seventh annual, Americans said it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy.

Some sources define the upper middle class as anyone making a lot of money but haven't crossed the threshold to become truly wealthy. These individuals often have a net worth of at least $500,000 to $2 million.

This sum of money would quickly put you in the top 1% of the U.S., according to Fortune magazine. When you consider how wealthy the U.S. is relative to most of the world—for instance, $57,000 of net worth would put you in the top 1% in the Philippines—$5 million is an enormous number.

This effectively means the top 1% are those with more than $10 million (~25m) and the top 0.1% are those with roughly $1 billion. There are estimated to be a little over 8 million households in the US with a net worth of $3 million or more. I very much doubt that any of them have that amount in savings.

The top 10% of U.S. families have a median net worth of $3.79 million. That's nearly 20 times as much as the median net worth nationwide, which is $192,900. People with a high net worth tend to earn large incomes, have a higher level of education, and own their homes.

Summary. $3 million should be more than enough to fund your retirement, even if you choose to retire early. A number of factors are at play when determining how long $3 million will last, including your investment strategy and retirement lifestyle.

The survey by financial services company Bankrate.com found that overall, Americans said they would need to earn about $483,000 on average to feel rich or achieve "financial freedom."

But while everyone in this group is rich, it does not mean they are wealthy. To be considered wealthy, your assets must be more substantial than your liabilities, with them generating an income large enough to cover your fixed expenses (such as rent or mortgage payments, car payments and insurance premiums).

Earning more than $100,000 per year would put you well ahead of the median American household, which brings in $74,784 as of 2021. Assuming you're an individual without dependents, that salary would qualify you as upper class, according to three different definitions (Brookings, Urban Institute and Pew Research).

According to the MacroMonitor, by 2022-23, the number of U.S. households with $3 million or more in financial assets represents 3.2% of all households, totaling 4.6 million.