Below are the results of a Gallup Poll about being rich in America. Time for our own TBP Poll.
- At what level of annual income would you classify yourself as rich?
- At what net worth would you classify yourself as rich?
Americans Set “Rich” Threshold at $150,000 in Annual Income
Half believe $1 million in net worth would make them rich
PRINCETON, NJ — Americans say they would need to earn a median of $150,000 a year to consider themselves rich. However, 30% say less than $100,000 would be enough, including 18% who would consider themselves rich if they made less than $60,000 a year. On the other hand, 15% say they would need to earn at least $1 million per year before thinking of themselves as rich.
![Just thinking about your own situation, how much money per year would you need to make in order to consider yourself rich? [OPEN-ENDED] November-December 2011](http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/pb6ugzdyhk6wcswgbhuqcw.gif)
The results are based on a Nov. 28-Dec. 1 Gallup poll. The question of who is “rich” in the United States has been frequently discussed during the past few years as the nation’s policymakers debate income-tax and deficit-reduction policies. Additionally, the Occupy Wall Street protests have focused their attention on the wealthiest 1% of Americans. The poll results suggest Americans would need quite a bit less than what the wealthiest 1% of Americans earn to consider themselves rich.
Americans’ perceptions of the annual income they need to be rich are a bit higher than in 2003, when Gallup last asked the question. Then, $120,000 a year was the median amount Americans said they would need to make in order to think of themselves as rich.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual household income in the United States is roughly $50,000 per year. The Gallup poll finds those below that level typically saying they would need to earn $100,000 or more in annual income to be rich. Those at or above that level typically report they would need to earn $200,000 a year to be rich, which expands to $250,000 among those well above the U.S. median income ($75,000 or more in annual household income).
The poll also finds higher estimates of the annual income needed to be rich among men than among women; estimates are also higher for younger vs. older Americans, and college graduates vs. college nongraduates. The typical parent of minor children believes he or she would need to make more money to be rich than does the typical American without minor children. Additionally, urban and suburban residents believe they would need more to be rich than do those residing in towns or rural areas.
Americans Believe $1 Million Net Worth Would Make Them Rich
A separate question in the poll asked Americans how much net worth, or savings in cash, stocks, real estate, and other investments, they would need to consider themselves rich. The median figure Americans give is $1 million, the same as in Gallup’s 2003 poll asking the same question.
Currently, 26% of Americans say they would need in excess of $1 million in savings in order to consider themselves rich, including 14% who say $5 million or more. At the other end of the spectrum, 13% would consider themselves rich with less than $100,000 in savings.
![Just thinking about your own situation, how much money would you need to have saved up in cash, stocks, real estate and other investments in order to consider yourself rich? [OPEN-ENDED] November-December 2011](http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/_0ixgaana0-ss16zhehqsa.gif)
Estimates of the amount of savings a person needs to be rich are generally similar by subgroup, though college graduates report a median of $1 million and college nongraduates of $500,000.
Implications
Americans generally would consider themselves rich if they made $150,000 per year or had $1 million in net worth. That seems to differ a bit from the federal government’s definition of rich. For example, the federal government’s top tax bracket of 35% begins with individuals and married couples earning $379,000 or more annually. Also, when Congress debated extending the 2001-2003 federal income tax cuts, the debate centered around whether to extend those for single Americans earning $200,000 and couples earning $250,000 or more per year.
The question of the point at which someone becomes rich certainly has policy implications in the United States. Gallup finds Americans now about evenly divided on whether the rich, broadly speaking, should be heavily taxed. At the same time, Americans usually show widespread support for higher taxes on upper-income Americans to pay for specific programs such as those designed to create jobs, reduce the deficit, and pay for the healthcare legislation.
Each question reported here is based on a random half-sample of approximately 500 national adults. For results based on these samples, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample includes a minimum quota of 400 cell phone respondents and 600 landline respondents per 1,000 national adults, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cell phone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, adults in the household, and phone status (cell phone only/landline only/both, cell phone mostly, and having an unlisted landline number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2010 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
View methodology, full question results, and trend data.
For more details on Gallup’s polling methodology, visit www.gallup.com.
bluestem says:
Everyone will be “rich” by the time all the “printing” gets done. John
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12th December 2011 at 1:55 pm
Petey says:
Income: $100,000
Saved: $1 Million
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12th December 2011 at 1:55 pm
Thinker says:
Income: $300,000
Saved: $5 million
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12th December 2011 at 2:03 pm
Cynical30 says:
$350,000 annual income
$1M+ net worth.
$100K my ass. I’m right at $100K and I still have to budget my ass off, make due and time regular bill payment like phone and electric. No, I don’t pay for cable, so don’t think I’m blowing my cash on lu. Not to mention I own my car and just opened my 1st credit card account in 6+ years to be able to actually AFFORD to move. It is literally impossible not to be sucked into the debt sham in this country unless you’re well over 200K/year salary… and in my opinion, being able to cash out of the debt vortex is “rich”.
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12th December 2011 at 2:03 pm
Administrator says:
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12th December 2011 at 2:06 pm
Administrator says:
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12th December 2011 at 2:16 pm
ecliptix543 says:
Income: Cover the bills that I have to pay, leave enough that I can play with the car and if I feel like spending $300-500 on something I see that’s nice to have, I don’t have to worry about keeping the lights on next week.
Net Worth: A good family, lots of friends, few enemies, nice weather, and to not be the only one at my funeral.
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12th December 2011 at 2:17 pm
Persnickety says:
This is somewhere between hilarious and sad. I’m going to sound really jaded. The numbers in the poll and even the TBP people above are what I would consider comfortable, upper-middle-class, but far, far, far from what I view as rich. I know several different business owners who have private jets (not little piston things, jets), and I guess for me that’s the cutoff for being truly rich. Annual income is a somewhat iffy basis when you consider how that varies and often gets intentionally manipulated at the truly rich level, but I would say an income of $1M or the equivalent in your ability to spend freely (meaning not necessarily what the tax man considers $1M income), and net worth of $20M+. Yes, I know I sound jaded. And even that cutoff is nowhere close to the kind of wealth you see on Wall Street or what gets you into the press as being wealthy.
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12th December 2011 at 2:18 pm
Oscar Mannheim says:
Years ago I saw a billboard in Spain for the lottery. The winner pictured was a youngish fellow who hadn’t shaved in a few days, was dressed very casually. The caption? “I own my time.” That is my definition of “rich” and I am happy to be “rich” by that measure. Money-wise? A wholly owned dwelling, near-self-sufficiency food-wise, no debt and a cash income below the US poverty line will do, but if I were to consider “big-time” rich, I’d add capital sufficient to generate sixty thou US in passive income after taxes. Once family responsibilities have been discharged, less is more in many, many ways.
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12th December 2011 at 2:20 pm
Persnickety says:
ecliptix: rich people will always have a well-attended funeral, since the grabby-hands-in-waiting usually think it will help them in the coming will contest, or in trying to get a grant from the family foundation.
But if you mean having a funeral well attended by people not expecting any remuneration for doing so, then I fully agree.
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12th December 2011 at 2:22 pm
AWD says:
I was rich, then I had to pay Federal, State and local taxes, property taxes, Social Security (FICA) and unemployment taxes, license fees and taxes, child support, mortgage payments, insurance payments, bills, food, gas, utilities and various other taxes. I suddenly realized I’m poor, and I’m only working for others.
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12th December 2011 at 2:25 pm
ecliptix543 says:
I do, Snickers.
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12th December 2011 at 2:25 pm
AWD says:
The only way to have a well-attended funeral is to have the reading of the will AFTER the service.
Wait, who the fuck cares how many people attend your funeral. You’ll be dead and won’t know the difference.
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12th December 2011 at 2:28 pm
Thinker says:
Persnickety, you’re right — what I stated was just enough to be “comfortable” and is clearly in the middle-class realm. I already don’t spend much (haven’t had a vacation in 12 years), but I do have people depending on me. That’s what I’d need to cover off not only on their basic needs, but to have some security in the future. Not asking for much. Definitely to be free from what Cynical called the debt-vortex.
And yeah, family, friends, etc is still what most people would count as making them “rich,” but that really wasn’t part of the survey/poll.
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12th December 2011 at 2:32 pm
ecliptix543 says:
“And yeah, family, friends, etc is still what most people would count as making them “rich,” but that really wasn’t part of the survey/poll.”
A technicality, Thinker.. are you a lawyer?
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12th December 2011 at 2:36 pm
Persnickety says:
Just to clarify before anyone labels me the greediest SOB on TBP, and like Thinker just said also, I was responding to the poll asking about “rich” in dollar terms.
I know people with all ranges of income from perhaps $10M a year to part-time at Walmart. As most people capable of reading TBP know, there is a correlation between money and happiness up to the level where your basic needs are reliably met, and past that point there is very little correlation. I know some rich people who are very happy (and not in a sociopathic way), but the happiness is from family, friends, and personal achievements, and the wealth is incidental. I know a number of borderline rich people (incomes roughly $300k-2M annually) who are generally miserable, because they’ve devoted their whole life to making money and have sabotaged everything else, but most of all their time with their own children, to do so.
And FWIW, the happiest people I know seem to be (1) those who really love what they do, regardless of what it pays, and (2) those who don’t work more than 40 hrs/week on average and get decent vacation time.
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12th December 2011 at 2:38 pm
Mary Malone says:
I guess $150k is the new mil.
Weird.
Americans are really dumbing down their expectations, aren’t we?
Feeling rich and being rich are two entirely different states, no?
I feel rich because I have my health, my family and ability to make my way in the world. But am I rich, not by a long-shot. We invested in real estate – gosh, that was a bright move, huh?
So altho we’re considered rich by the random number in this poll, we certainly don’t live that way, or have that kind of emotional security.
We’re using every last dime to pay off our considerable debt so that we will have some options on where to live and be self-sufficient when the system finally collapses.
As bad as our situation is, most Americans in our income bracket are worse off, mainly because they are in denial. And in debt without the hope of every paying it off before the cloward & piven system goes belly up.
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12th December 2011 at 2:39 pm
howard in nyc says:
rich, for me, equals not having to work. my lifestyle/burn rate is just perfect for me; i’d spend more money traveling with unlimited free time, but i wouldn’t suddenly long for a private jet. (first-class commercial is just fine, thank you.)
i used to think $3 million in liquid wealth would do it. because i could finance my current lifestyle very nicely from the interest. since 2008, not so much. $250,000 annual income, work free (dividends, rent, interest from old 30yr t-bills) would be nice. and a little place on a nice ocean beach.
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12th December 2011 at 2:39 pm
Thinker says:
Ecliptix, no, I’m a survey researcher, among other things. So yeah, I’m thinking, “just answer the damn question already!” to some of these answers. “Family and friends is not an acceptable answer choice!”
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12th December 2011 at 2:48 pm
AWD says:
I love the pictures from “It’s a wonderful life.”
The common man beating the bankster through the good-will of family and friends. If only that were true today….
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12th December 2011 at 3:02 pm
Administrator says:
Jamie Dimon’s bathroom
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12th December 2011 at 3:03 pm
AWD says:
Banksters only lose in Frank Capra movies….
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12th December 2011 at 3:04 pm
Administrator says:
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12th December 2011 at 3:07 pm
Administrator says:
To be truly rich, just give me the sun and wind on my face, free time, a sturdy bike, and a loyal goat.
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12th December 2011 at 3:11 pm
FoxFire says:
This is why surveys are for entertainment purposes only, the results are fiction not data
- How you phrase the question and available responses predetermines the results.
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12th December 2011 at 3:12 pm
Wyoming Mike says:
Here, 100k household income & 50 lbs of gold would do it.
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12th December 2011 at 3:44 pm
Punk In Drublic says:
I would be rich if I had…
1. Annual income of $100,000.
2. Net worth of 1 million.
I think that would be more money than I can smoke.
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12th December 2011 at 3:46 pm
Diogenes says:
Joe Heller
True story, Word of Honor:
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter Island.
I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel ‘Catch-22′
has earned in its entire history?”
And Joe said, “I’ve got something he can never have.”
And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?”
And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
Not bad! Rest in peace!”
–Kurt Vonnegut
The New Yorker, May 16th, 2005
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12th December 2011 at 3:52 pm
Terry says:
I thought the showing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” would have been banned by now…
Doubtless the posting of stills from it puts you on some kind of list.
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12th December 2011 at 3:52 pm
Muck About says:
I’ve been lucky all my life.. Good parents, friends along the way, been hungry only once or twice (early on), great adventures (I’m counting my work in that as well as “real” adventures) and in studying on it, I’ve never lacked for anything important that I couldn’t work hard enough to make happen.
Money, in itself, is better to have in moderation than not have at all. Makes life less tense. What people don’t understand is that being poor in the United States is to be filthy rich almost anywhere else in the world.
Being rich here is not about money, it’s about internal wealth of knowledge, good family and friends, a personal philosophy that brings one peace and the ability to recognize reality for what it is and not what you want it to be.
Wealth is liking yourself and your ability to go walk in a downpour and appreciate rain drops. Wealth is standing on the edge of the South side of the Grand Canyon and being able one day to actually go down that river in the bottom and look up at the rim and in the process, get a whole lot closer to nature, where we came from and know that it will all still be there long after we’re gone.
Wealth is like life itself. Temporary. You better learn to be content with what you can accomplish in the time allowed or it’ll be all over before you even realize you’ve been here.
MA
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12th December 2011 at 5:21 pm
WestcliffeJeff says:
Sounds like a means of painting targets on people.
By the way, never trust anyone over 30 years old.
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12th December 2011 at 5:45 pm
indiejen says:
I’m surprised by the results of the TBP poll thus far. Since when are we so politically correct around here? The term “rich”, in this context, is clearly about money, not about the ‘richness of life’ or spirit or what have you. WTF? Here Persnickity has apologized for himself three times, worried about “coming off jaded” because he dared to say $1m per year with twenty times that in the bank. Well, apologize no longer, Persnickity, because I’m clearly the most jaded person in the room.
What would I consider, in monetary units, would qualify one as rich? Five million dollars per year in salary and bonus. Benefits not included. Fifty million ‘in the bank’, so to speak, in various tangible and intangible forms. That is rich. And that is a conservative figure.
And I feel this to be true because I have dealt with rich people extensively through nonprofit philanthropy work. I’ve ‘cultivated donor relationships’, to use philanthropy-speak, at the Knickerbocker Club, albeit in the lone room set aside for females. I’ve attended the parties and chatted with the wives decked out in genuine couture, as in the one-of-a-kind stuff. I’ve asked individuals for a million on behalf of the organization I was representing, and I’ve gotten it. I’ve asked for five million and gotten that, too.
Consider that Harvard University’s endowment is $32 billion. As in 32,000 million. The Boston Symphony’s endowment is $300 million, plus extraneous tens of millions set aside for “artistic” endeavors. If you aim to serve as a trustee at BSO, you’re coughing up a million a year. Period. That’s the ticket price to be a true patron of the arts in this day and age.
Think in terms of what a million dollars will buy today. A two-bedroom cottage in the Hamptons will set you back at least $1.2m. And you call yourself rich, with the Porsche Cayenne SUV in front of your four-bedroom colonial in Hackensack? Please. At a million a year with five in the bank, you’re merely a wannabe. You sure ain’t a trustee at the local museum.
My point is, take a look around. The wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins who recently came out and said that it was his fault that his wife stabbed him in the stomach has a five-year, $55m contract. For playing football. How about uber-celeb couple Jay-Z and Beyonce? He’s worth $450m and she’s got another $300m. How does $750 million sound to you?
Newt Gingrich earned $1.2m for his paltry “consulting” at Fannie, didn’t he? For what, two on-site meetings and a white paper? If you don’t think that your rich life would garner more than a million per annum, Persnickity, I daresay you’re selling yourself short.
You’re not rich unless you have enough money to have your money sustain itself. An endowment. Enough that you can be insulated from the vulnerabilities of the markets. From the predators like Bernie Madoff and Jon Corzine. Do you think the people they stole from were rich? Those people probably thought they were, but many of them sure aren’t rich anymore.
The nonprofit world has jaded me, no doubt. Doing good work for good works never paid me more than $60k, but it certainly opened my eyes to the reality of the Haves and the Never-Will-Haves.
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12th December 2011 at 5:46 pm
llpoh says:
Rich is probably around $5 million, per Thinker above.
Really rich I have seen defined as the ability to live on the interest on your interest. If you get to that point, your wealth grows forever. If you retire at 65 with a few million in the bank, you will consume a lot of it in your life. If however you have enough to live on the interest on your interest (pretty hard these days), your money will grow evermore. That number is probably around $50 million or so.
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12th December 2011 at 6:06 pm
JEBENEEZER says:
First of all, Newt is a Toad.
To have youth, good health and be wise enough to know it is worth more than all of the money of the old Waltons have or will ever have.
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12th December 2011 at 6:49 pm
Opinionated Bloviator says:
I consider rich to be a Passive Income of over $500,000 (in today’s dollars).
To generate that cash flow I would need ~ $10,000,000+ in hard assets.
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12th December 2011 at 6:57 pm
FRED FLINTSTONE says:
I knew I had arrived when I could afford actual African American lawn jockeys on my McMansion. Good Times.
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12th December 2011 at 7:05 pm
indiejen says:
So far this is resembling a Gallup poll. Only 22% of respondents understand the question.
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12th December 2011 at 7:55 pm
Novista says:
Fuck the $$$
Am I rich?
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12th December 2011 at 11:22 pm
SSS says:
This poll is bullshit.
My in-laws were a rock-solid blue collar family who left little to their progeny. I was the odd man out who, as they warned her early on when we were dating, was expected to break their daughter’s heart because I was the local kid who won a four-year scholarship to college and would move on to “better horizons.” Didn’t work out that way. We got married. Still are.
The “richness” of her family is something I will take to my grave. I was welcomed as a son and got to share in their enjoyment of life and family. Close enough for wealthy for me.
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12th December 2011 at 12:20 am
Administrator says:
Novista
You’ve hit the jackpot.
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12th December 2011 at 7:42 am
prtrb'd says:
We as a society seem to have been brainwashed into thinking that money is the end all to happiness. Hence the question. The new 1st turning coming along at breakneck speed I hope will pull us back to our roots: reinstate core values- honesty, integrity, community, the value of hard work. True wealth I suspect will eventually come to be measured in these metrics instead of dollar terms. In the meantime, and to get us thru the 4th turning, how about measuring wealth in terms of firewood in the woodshed, veggies in the garden, and enough hard money to get us thru the lean years. So yeah, this poll sucks.
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12th December 2011 at 11:28 am