Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I bought my 130k house in a low-COL area when I made 41k right out of school. i traveled and saved. it can be done.
paid for a master's degree (with no raise or promotion) because i love learning. i could have had a sweet boat with that money but knowledge is more fun to me than a depreciating asset sitting in storage.
One thing to keep in my mind is that this is a personal finance forum. The people posting on here presumably have some interest in personal finance, so it stands to reason they'd be better at it than the average person off the street. Also, these forums tend to skew toward a more intelligent and probably more educated crowd than the average street person. I'm not surprised that salaries here would be higher than the average.
With that said, I'm also skeptical of some accomplishments. Maybe it's just because I come from a poor, mostly uneducated Appalachian family that has no professionals in it (no doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc) and come from a poor area, but making $100k/year is very, very high wage for where I grew up. The median wage here is probably only in the mid to high $20k range. I know of a few medical professionals and new pharmacists I grew up with making over $50k there, but for nonmedical, degreed professionals, $50k is unheard of - I can't think of a single person in their 20s making $50k in east TN.
Salaries are going to be far higher in coastal areas just to keep pace with COL. I remember seeing some thread not long ago about a guy in his 20s in CT making $75k and "struggling." I plugged what he made and compared it to Nashville and it equated to about $45k in Nashville. Decent and probably above average, but certainly not well off.
There is a big segment of society that is either unemployable or only marginally employable. Many people have criminal records, effectively disqualifying them from many forms of employment. Others are of limited intelligence, and thus limited skills. Others may have some ability, but have just resigned themselves to low wage work. There are tens of millions on food stamps, UI, and other social assistance programs, whose finances are essentially wrecked from the get-go and worse than most of the worst case posters here. These are not the people posting to C-D, but they do constitute a large part of society, and I'm of the opinion more people are on shakier ground than is estimated.
One thing to keep in my mind is that this is a personal finance forum. The people posting on here presumably have some interest in personal finance, so it stands to reason they'd be better at it than the average person off the street. Also, these forums tend to skew toward a more intelligent and probably more educated crowd than the average street person. I'm not surprised that salaries here would be higher than the average.
With that said, I'm also skeptical of some accomplishments. Maybe it's just because I come from a poor, mostly uneducated Appalachian family that has no professionals in it (no doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc) and come from a poor area, but making $100k/year is very, very high wage for where I grew up. The median wage here is probably only in the mid to high $20k range. I know of a few medical professionals and new pharmacists I grew up with making over $50k there, but for nonmedical, degreed professionals, $50k is unheard of - I can't think of a single person in their 20s making $50k in east TN.
Salaries are going to be far higher in coastal areas just to keep pace with COL. I remember seeing some thread not long ago about a guy in his 20s in CT making $75k and "struggling." I plugged what he made and compared it to Nashville and it equated to about $45k in Nashville. Decent and probably above average, but certainly not well off.
There is a big segment of society that is either unemployable or only marginally employable. Many people have criminal records, effectively disqualifying them from many forms of employment. Others are of limited intelligence, and thus limited skills. Others may have some ability, but have just resigned themselves to low wage work. There are tens of millions on food stamps, UI, and other social assistance programs, whose finances are essentially wrecked from the get-go and worse than most of the worst case posters here. These are not the people posting to C-D, but they do constitute a large part of society, and I'm of the opinion more people are on shakier ground than is estimated.
FWIW, I post on a particular city forum and the income/net worth skews WAY above the norm. For most of the people I don't think they're exaggerating or trying to impress - they discuss various areas and schools with the easy familiarity and knowledge of someone who lives there, and don't talk about themselves but rather the places. One would think that over half the city lived in those affluent enclaves.
That said, there are reasons for this. Many people who check out CD are relos looking for info on possible destinations - that demographic is generally well above average income. Also, looking up info on education in the US: http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/e...able3_2012.xls (opens an excel spreadsheet), note that only about 30% of the population 25 and over has a bachelor's degree, whereas it seems the vast majority of CD posters are college grads.
As you note, Eastern TN is generally a low income area. A sizable number of posters are from major cities where median incomes are much higher. I'm guessing many CD posters are also in the age 30-55 or so age range with a sizable number married with kids ("how are the schools in city X?"), also a higher income demographic.
Interestingly, about 11% of all adults have a masters' degree or higher, while over 12% of all adults don't even have a high school diploma! In fact, 5% of all adults never went beyond 8th grade in education (!!), although not surprisingly the numbers are higher for older adults (6.7% of all 55 and over, only 3.2% for those age 25-34).
Last edited by synchronicity; 02-18-2014 at 03:43 PM..
Reason: corrected link to the correct excel workbook
If you make $50,000 a year in San Francisco or New York, you might as well be living in a cardboard refrigerator carton under the interstate or commute two hours a day.
Nah, You live out in Brooklyn or Queens if you make $50,000 in New York. Or Oakland in SF's case. The vast majority of people in these places don't make any better money than others in other major metros.
50K isn't bad for younger 20's. but I would not be too happy with that salary in my late 20's. Even in a low cost of living area, after taxes, health insurance, and retirement contributions, you will bring home 60-65% of that. 60% of 50K is 30K. 30K/26 (assuming you get paid biweekly) is $1,153. Double that for a month of take home, and you are at $2306 for the month.
The problem with most people is they go by their own perception of reality and not actual facts. This is one of the primary reason's many 20 year olds think 50K is not a lot of money.
For example, if the figures you posted above are true then you are extremely successful at a very early age. But you put that you would not be happy with 50K in your late 20's because your perception of reality is your own experience.
Did you know at 25 you earned more then approximately 87% of the population of the US? If someone earns 50K even when they are 55 years old, they are making more then 76.97% of the US population. So they are doing extremely well even earning that much even at that age.
Most studies that you find through a quick Google search (including official government number) quote HOUSEHOLD income not INDIVIDUAL income. So you think you are looking at how much someone makes but in reality you’re looking at the total for the entire household. This makes it seem as though people make more then they do. The numbers I posted above are official government numbers from 2012 (2013 numbers don't come out till middle of 2014).
The median individual income in the USA is approximately 27K. So the reality is anyone making more then that is doing quite well in terms of actual facts.
The problem with most people is they go by their own perception of reality and not actual facts. This is one of the primary reason's many 20 year olds think 50K is not a lot of money.
For example, if the figures you posted above are true then you are extremely successful at a very early age. But you put that you would not be happy with 50K in your late 20's because your perception of reality is your own experience.
Did you know at 25 you earned more then approximately 87% of the population of the US? If someone earns 50K even when they are 55 years old, they are making more then 76.97% of the US population. So they are doing extremely well even earning that much even at that age.
Most studies that you find through a quick Google search (including official government number) quote HOUSEHOLD income not INDIVIDUAL income. So you think you are looking at how much someone makes but in reality you’re looking at the total for the entire household. This makes it seem as though people make more then they do. The numbers I posted above are official government numbers from 2012 (2013 numbers don't come out till middle of 2014).
The median individual income in the USA is approximately 27K. So the reality is anyone making more then that is doing quite well in terms of actual facts.
I am going on facts, not perception. Just because a salary is average or above average does not necessarily mean it is adequate.
The problem with most people is they go by their own perception of reality and not actual facts. This is one of the primary reason's many 20 year olds think 50K is not a lot of money.
For example, if the figures you posted above are true then you are extremely successful at a very early age. But you put that you would not be happy with 50K in your late 20's because your perception of reality is your own experience.
Did you know at 25 you earned more then approximately 87% of the population of the US? If someone earns 50K even when they are 55 years old, they are making more then 76.97% of the US population. So they are doing extremely well even earning that much even at that age.
Most studies that you find through a quick Google search (including official government number) quote HOUSEHOLD income not INDIVIDUAL income. So you think you are looking at how much someone makes but in reality you’re looking at the total for the entire household. This makes it seem as though people make more then they do. The numbers I posted above are official government numbers from 2012 (2013 numbers don't come out till middle of 2014).
The median individual income in the USA is approximately 27K. So the reality is anyone making more then that is doing quite well in terms of actual facts.
not sure where where you got that median individual income from. It looks quite low, and we don't know if the figure includes retirees and children. The other poster probably lives in a big city where making this much basically equates to poverty.
The problem with most people is they go by their own perception of reality and not actual facts. This is one of the primary reason's many 20 year olds think 50K is not a lot of money.
For example, if the figures you posted above are true then you are extremely successful at a very early age. But you put that you would not be happy with 50K in your late 20's because your perception of reality is your own experience.
Did you know at 25 you earned more then approximately 87% of the population of the US? If someone earns 50K even when they are 55 years old, they are making more then 76.97% of the US population. So they are doing extremely well even earning that much even at that age.
Most studies that you find through a quick Google search (including official government number) quote HOUSEHOLD income not INDIVIDUAL income. So you think you are looking at how much someone makes but in reality you’re looking at the total for the entire household. This makes it seem as though people make more then they do. The numbers I posted above are official government numbers from 2012 (2013 numbers don't come out till middle of 2014).
The median individual income in the USA is approximately 27K. So the reality is anyone making more then that is doing quite well in terms of actual facts.
Do your percentages include the drop out pot heads at my high school who go from minimum wage job to the next?
To be fair, you should only be comparing salaries to others with same education backgrounds. People with a college degree earn more on average than those who do not. $50k for a college educated person is just average.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
