Survey reveals the amount of money you need to be financially 'comfortable' in the US
For those planning to move to the US in the future, and those who have recently made the big move, finances are a significant task to cross off the list. No amount of advice and research can answer your query of just how much money you would need to have a 'comfortable' life in the United States.
According to a news survey, it's less than most people guessed. The new Modern Wealth Survey by Charles Schwab revealed that you need even less than $1 million to live comfortably in the US.
Numerous surveys revealed that being wealthy in 2025 means having a net worth of over $1 million. In the Schwab survey, released this month, consumers set the bar higher at $2.3 million.
But what if you just want to live in comfort and not wealth? Then, the amount you need is $839,000.
An exhaling low from the past four years, where the amount was between $624,000 - $1 million.
How do Americans define wealth and comfort?
Image credits: Getty Images
While Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning at Schwab, defined it as the difference between needs, wants and wishes, for the participants, the definition was free to explore.
The survey asked the respondents to define what wealthy meant to them, and these are the most-cited factors in descending order:
Happiness (45% cited it)
'Amount of money I have' (44%)
Physical health (37%)
Mental health (32%)
'Quality of my relationships' (24%)
Life experiences (24%)
Accomplishments (20%)
Amount of free time (18%)
Material possessions (17%)
Is financial comfort a reality or a dream?
Only 11% of consumers said they believe they are wealthy now, with 24% stating they are on their way to becoming wealthy.
Gen-Z and millennials were the most aspirational about wealth, with more than two-fifths of both groups reporting being either wealthy or on the track to become so.
Not only wealth, but even financial comfort seems to be a dream in America right now. Only 20% responders reported feeling comfortable right now, and 28% said they are on the way to achieving the status.
However, even here, the Gen-Z and millennial groups seemed to be more optimistic, with more than half of each saying they are financially comfortable or getting there.
How many Americans are wealthy?
Image credits: Getty Images
The net worth of $839,000, which is the cut-off for financial comfort in America, falls below the average net worth for American families in 2022, which was approximately $1.1 million, as per the federal Survey of Consumer Finances.
However, America also has a large number of super-wealthy people, making the median household net worth just $192,700. Thus, even being wealthy might not be enough in America.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Time of India
India's Russian crude buying has to stop, US adviser Navarro says
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India's purchases of Russian crude were funding Moscow's war in Ukraine and has to stop, while adding that New Delhi was "now cozying up to both Russia and China ." "If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one," Navarro wrote in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times, adding that it was risky for American companies to transfer cutting-edge military capabilities to India.
India.com
40 minutes ago
- India.com
China beats US, Japan, Germany in AI race; robot games in China leaves everyone in shock due to...
Countries across the globe, especially China and the United States, are currently trying to stay ahead in the field of AI. Recently, China seems to be ahead of the competition. Robot Games were held in Beijing, and we saw new machines from Unitree Robotics, a Chinese company, which bolstered China's claims in AI and humanoid advancement. The three-day event included American companies like Tesla Inc. and other Chinese companies. China is hosting the world's first Humanoid Games, where robots compete in sports such as basketball and kickboxing, demonstrating the country's increasing strength in AI and robotics. Two-legged, humanoid robots from companies like Unitree Robotics and X-Humanoid kicked off the World Humanoid Robot Games by competing in a 1,500-meter race in Beijing on Friday. Hangzhou-based Chinese robotics darling Unitree took first place in the initial race with its H1 humanoid coming in first and third place. Beijing-based X-Humanoid's Tien Kung Ultra, which won the world's first half-marathon featuring human and robot runners in April, finished second. The Robot Games took place recently in Beijing, where Chinese manufacturer Unitree Robotics showed off its state-of-the-art machine, further solidifying China's position in AI and humanoid robotics. Alongside Chinese companies, American firms—including Tesla Inc.—also participated in this three-day competition. The H1 humanoid Robot from the Hangzhou-based company completed the 1,500m humanoid race in 6 minutes and 35 seconds, winning the gold medal. Another robot from Unitree also achieved a podium finish on the first day of the World Humanoid Robot Games. Unitree's family of robots did many athletic exhibitions during the event, while Tesla's Optimus humanoid appeared to be in the developmental phase.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
A bad summit's silver lining
Vladimir Putin led Russia out of international isolation on Friday, striding down a red carpet to greet an applauding Donald Trump. He accepted a ride with President Trump in 'the Beast," and one-on-one applied his KGB training to restart one of Moscow's most effective influence operations ever. After the Alaska summit, Mr. Putin could legitimately say, as generations of victorious generals have, 'The day is ours." Since his first encounter with Kim Jong Un, Mr. Trump has argued that U.S. presidents lose nothing by meeting rogue foreign leaders without previously exacting a price. Most everyone else disagrees, especially the rogues. Friday's summit should clear up Mr. Trump's misapprehension. Mr. Putin emerged from diplomatic purdah with flags unfurled, literally. How long before Europeans like France's ever-opportunistic Emmanuel Macron phone Mr. Putin or visit him in Moscow? And how does India, under sanctions from Washington for buying Russian oil, feel about still hanging out to dry? At the summit's concluding media event, the leaders were addressing multiple audiences: America, Russia, Ukraine, Europe and, never forget, China. Worried about all these audiences, the White House worked assiduously beforehand to lower expectations. Among Americans, only MAGA loyalists could assert their leader had a good day. Russians seemed exuberant, and in Kyiv and other European capitals the mood was disquiet or dismay. Xi Jinping may now be more inclined to meet with Mr. Trump, having noted his evident fatigue during the press conference. We don't know whether the economic teams—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and their Russian counterparts—took advantage of their free time to confer. From Moscow's perspective, it was a real opportunity. Even if these ministers reached no conclusions, they could have laid the basis for future discussions between Messrs. Trump and Putin, or at least arranged for their own subordinates to prepare the way. Mr. Trump rated the Putin meeting a 10 'in the sense that we got along great," essentially the only measure he credits. 'Make a deal," he advised Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky. 'Russia is a very big power." Mr. Zelensky immediately announced he would meet Mr. Trump in Washington on Monday. The crucial news, underlining the Monday meeting's importance, came after Mr. Trump left Alaska. He wrote on Truth Social that 'the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up." That directly contradicts the unanimous pre-summit European view that a cease-fire must be in place before substantive discussions begin. It was unclear how European leaders reacted; their postsummit statement was silent on the subject. While it is a minority view, I believe Mr. Trump's announcement is positive news for Kyiv, although not for the reason he gives. Cease-fire lines typically fall along existing military front lines. When negotiations follow a cease-fire, particularly when accompanied by the deployment of peacekeeping forces, as has also been suggested, the cease-fire line often hardens. In short order, cease-fire lines can become de facto borders. Consider the history of many United Nations peacekeeping operations, such as Cyprus since 1964, or the Korean Armistice, which after two years of negotiations froze the border between North and South Korea for 72 years and counting. Mr. Putin's postsummit remarks emphasized that Russia's aims—essentially re-creating the Russian Empire, hadn't changed a scintilla. Russia holds roughly 20% of Ukraine's territory, doubling from the approximately 10% seized in 2014 in the first phase of Moscow's annexation plan. If a cease-fire line traces what Moscow now holds in phase two and negotiations drag on, Mr. Putin will gain time to restore his economy, rebuild and repurpose his army and navy, and prepare for phase three. He has patience, waiting eight years between the first two efforts at reuniting 'little Russia" (as Muscovites call Ukraine), with the rodina, or motherland. In response, Ukraine requires security guarantees, including from Washington—about which Mr. Trump remains exceedingly vague, his recent positive noises notwithstanding. Kyiv should reject this scenario unequivocally, not embrace it, with one major caveat. Ukraine must have assurances that European and U.S. military assistance will continue at appropriate levels to allow them to resist further Russian advances, and begin regaining lands, to achieve the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's stated goal of restoring the country's full sovereignty and territorial integrity. This will force Mr. Trump and the Europeans to decide whether they are prepared to accept Russian aggression or resist it. Mr. Bolton served as White House national security adviser, 2018-19, and ambassador to the U.N., 2005-06. He is author of 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir."
