Yahoo Finance
In 2024, Americans stated that the average net worth they consider “wealthy” is $2.5 million.
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.
Top 5% Threshold: This tier is a significant milestone, with a net worth requirement exceeding $3.8 million. This signifies financial accomplishment achieved through strategic planning and diligent wealth management.
Believe it or not, data from the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances indicates that only 9% of American households have managed to save $500,000 or more for their retirement. This means less than one in ten families have achieved this financial goal.
The poll also found that among those who have been saving for retirement, 6.7% have saved between $10,000 and $49,999, 12.6% have saved between $50,000 and $99,999, 12% have saved between $100,000 and $199,999, 9.9% have saved between $200,000 and $299,999 and 16.5% have saved $300,000 or more.
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.
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.
As of the second quarter 2024, the average American household had wealth of $1.17 million. The average wealth of households in the top 1 percent was about $35.5 million. In the top 0.1 percent, the average household had wealth of more than $158.6 million.
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.
For a $3 million retirement fund, anticipate a monthly income of $6,250 over 40 years, barring investment growth or loss. Factors such as lifestyle choices, inflation, and healthcare costs will influence how long your savings last.
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).
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.
According to Schwab's 2024 Modern Wealth Survey, Americans said that it takes an average net worth of $2.5 million to qualify a person as being wealthy, a bit of an uptick from $2.2 million in the surveys from 2022 and 2023.
Rich (or wealthy) people tend to have lots of free cash—and/or borrowing power—which they can spend on more goods and services. They can pay their bills easily, afford health care without worry, and often depend on a financially secure future. Their affluence can have different origins, of course.
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.
The chart below shows having $3 million saved for retirement comfortably puts you in the top 5% of retirees in America.
Eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity, according to a new report published by Oxfam today ahead of the annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
What is a good net worth for my age? People in their 20s and 30s should target net worth of $100,000 to $300,000. A net worth of $1 million or more should be the goal in your 40s and beyond. A seven-figure net worth is usually necessary to ensure a comfortable retirement.
“Somewhere around 4,473,836 households have $4 million or more in wealth, while around 3,592,054 have at least $5 million. Respectively, that is 3.48% and 2.79% of all households in America.”
And if you want to be in the top 1%, you're looking at an income of around $819,324 a year – or about $68,277 a month. See Also: The number of '401(k)' Millionaires is up 43% from last year — Here are three ways to join the club.
“Individuals should limit the amount of money in savings accounts to the amount they need to live for two months as long as they can easily access their funds in a safe money market account that pays much higher interest,” said accredited financial counselor Camille Gaines, founder of Retire Certain.
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.