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america today
A six-figure salary doesn’t mean what it once did.
That’s the conclusion from the latest Harris poll, suggesting that a six-figure income in 2025 will equate to survival, but not necessarily success.
One in three people with six-figure incomes said in a poll that they were in financial difficulty. Two in three people said a six-figure salary is not a sign of wealth.
The Harris poll, released Nov. 14, surveyed 2,109 Americans, 728 of whom earned more than $100,000 a year.
The idea that highly paid workers are struggling is counterintuitive. Economic data shows that high-income Americans are spending more freely and increasingly driving the economy as less wealthy households tighten.
The top 10% of earners account for more than 49% of all consumer spending, the highest level in decades, according to research by Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. Rising home values and record stock returns are inflating the balance sheets of wealthy Americans.
“Overall, high-income households are doing well,” said Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “They’re the ones spending. They’re the ones primarily supporting consumer spending.”
People with six-figure incomes live off their paychecks.
Considering that the median annual income for full-time workers in the United States is about $62,000, an income of $100,000 would put you firmly in the middle class.
America’s middle class may not be wealthy, but they have come to expect some degree of economic security.
But in the Harris survey, many high earners described themselves as living paycheck to paycheck.
Three-quarters of people with six-figure annual incomes said they recently used a credit card because they ran out of cash. More than half of people with six-figure incomes said they would need to double their income to feel financially secure.
“People used to feel that anything above six digits was a sign of financial stability,” said Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer and futurist at Harris Poll. “And now we just see it as a sign that we’re surviving and that we’re in survival mode.”
The study found that high-income earners were more likely than other consumers to use credit cards when they were short on cash. High-income earners were also more likely to use “buy now, pay later” financing for everyday purchases.
Some with six-figure incomes said they have sold personal items, cut medical costs and even skipped meals to make ends meet.
Years of inflation have reduced the value of $100,000 of income.
As in other parts of the United States, high-income earners have been dealing with years of cumulative inflation. Prices have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices are now at least 24% higher than they were at the beginning of 2020, according to Bankrate.
“Even though inflation has come down, people still feel expensive,” said Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank.
Years of inflation have devalued six-figure incomes.
Bill Adams, Comerica Bank’s chief economist, estimates that a worker would need to earn $170,000 in 2025 to wield the same purchasing power that a $100,000 salary earned in 2005.
The value of a six-figure income also depends on where you live.
A 2025 analysis by personal finance site LendingTree found that in many American cities, families can earn six-figure incomes and still feel broke.
The report found that in 25 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas, average monthly spending on basic expenses exceeds the monthly income of a family of three with an income of $100,000.
Adams said six-figure earners are “concentrated in America’s largest and most expensive metropolitan areas, where the cost of living is higher.”
So some high-income Americans surveyed in the Harris poll may be thinking about the limits of six-figure salaries in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
“Living $200,000 in Manhattan and $200,000 living in Toledo, Ohio are two completely different things,” Ajiroa said.
Economic data tells a confusing story
Harris’ new poll is called the “Income Paradox Study.” The latest troves of economic data also provide a somewhat paradoxical picture of today’s economy.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence is declining. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 53.6 in October, its lowest level in three years.
Meanwhile, federal data shows consumer spending continues to rise, with wealthy Americans leading the increase.
“Consumers often do what they say they don’t,” Sweet says. “If I’m going to hold my foot to the fire, I’m going to look at what consumers do, not what they say.”
