Americans say you need a net worth of at least $2.5 million to feel wealthy, according to Charles Schwab's annual Modern Wealth Survey, which surveyed 1,000 Americans ages 21 to 75 in March 2024. That's up slightly from $2.2 million, compared with last year's survey results.
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.
Interestingly, the 90th percentile is pretty flat, around $2.5M to $3M, from one's early 50s to one's 80s. The 95th is slightly less flat, with a peak slightly under $7M in one's late 60s; while the 99th percentile rises sharply with age until peaking over $22M in one's late 60s, from which point it mostly drops.
According to recent data from the Federal Reserve, a net worth of at least $3,795,000 places you among the coveted top 5% of U.S. households. While this may seem like a substantial sum, it pales compared to the ultra-affluent's stratospheric wealth.
If you're dreaming of $3 million or more, though, you're officially aiming for a financial VIP club that represents less than 1% of retirees. Don't Miss: Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you.
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.
The top 10% of earners have an average net worth of $2.65 million. Even if you're squeaking into the upper class (the 80-90% range), you're looking at about $793,000. Moving down to the middle class, things get a bit more varied. The upper-middle class folks have an average net worth of around $300,800.
The Top 1% by Net Worth
When it comes to net worth, the threshold is even higher. To be part of the top 1% in the U.S., a household's net worth needs to be at least $13.6 million. This measure includes everything you own – homes, investments, savings – minus debts.
You can probably retire in financial comfort at age 45 if you have $3 million in savings. Although it's much younger than most people retire, that much money can likely generate adequate income for as long as you live.
A high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is a person with typically at least $1 million in liquid financial assets. An ultra-high-net-worth individual has a net worth of more than $30 million.
Your net worth is what you own minus what you owe. It's the total value of all your assets—including your house, cars, investments and cash—minus your liabilities (things like credit card debt, student loans, and what you still owe on your mortgage).
How many multi-millionaires are in the US? About 8,046,080 US households have a net worth of $2 million or more, covering about 6.25% of American households. 5,671,005 US households have a net worth of $3 million or more, covering about 4.41% of all US households.
Regarding net worth, having $1 million in liquid assets often puts you in the 'high net worth' category. But if you want to be considered very high net worth, you might need anywhere from $5 million to $10 million. For those aiming even higher, ultrahigh net worth status could mean having $30 million or more.
According to estimates based on the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, a mere 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million in their retirement accounts. The number of those with $2 million or more is even smaller, falling somewhere between this 3.2% and the 0.1% who have $5 million or more saved.
The 95th percentile is considered wealthy, with $3.2 million household net worth, so even more spending power, which means estate planning and possibly more than one home. And the 99th percentile is very wealthy, with $16.7 million in net household worth, Schmidt says.
But according to Charles Schwab's 2024 Modern Wealth Survey, the general consensus is that a net worth of $778,000 will put most Americans into financial comfort. This survey collected information from 1,000 Americans aged 21-74.
Dated ways of describing someone worth n millions are "n-fold millionaire" and "millionaire n times over". Still commonly used is multimillionaire, which refers to individuals with net assets of 2 million or more of a currency.
The $4 Million Reality
That's an elite group, for sure. Leigh Baldwin & Co. Advisory Services reports about 4,473,836 U.S. households have amassed $4 million or more in wealth. This figure represents roughly 3.44% of all households in the country.
As mentioned above, $3 million can easily carry you through 40 years of retirement, making leaving the workforce at 50 a plausible option. Many dream of early retirement, but if you're lucky enough to already have $3 million set aside for this phase of your life, you could do more than dream.
Today, to be a real millionaire, you will need much more than $1 million. With $3 million, you can withdraw at a more appropriate 3% or 4% rate and generate $90,000 – $120,000 a year. $90,000 – $120,000 a year still isn't living a rich lifestyle. But it's above the real median household income of roughly $75,000.
Data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which utilizes the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, indicates that only about 0.1% of retirees have over $5 million saved for retirement. Additionally, about 3.2% have savings exceeding $1 million.