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Private School is a toss. They are several top public schools in NYC that will give the children a great education. I might put the kids in decent public school and hire a tutor for certain subjects.
Those public schools won't let you in unless you are a top 5% student.
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Buying a 1.5 million dollar is pretty absurd when after taxes your net income is 500K. They are plenty of homes that they could have purchased for 300K or less in good neighborhoods.
Those aren't luxury cars. Those are the cars we own now, and they're relatively new.
The point is that you'd be living in an apartment where you don't even need one car, yet we'd be able to afford two.
If we wanted to, we could trade in both cars and get a BMW.
Or we could move to a cheaper apartment in the 'burbs and own two BMWs.
Luxury is about being able to buy things you totally don't NEED.
That's how the upper class is defined. The things they don't need (luxury cars) are seen as a necessity to them. But anyway, you have your definition and I have mine.
When I was in grad school I worked as a nanny for a wealthy family. The father earned 10 million a year, the mother was an MD, but she worked part time. They drove a Chrysler and a Jeep. The fathers boss bought him a Porsche as a bonus one year, but he really didn't want it and rarely drove it. Their house was beautiful but not over the top, it felt like a family home, not a showplace. One can be upper class and not ostentatious. Caring about status symbols is not a sign of class. Some of the poorest people buy expensive designer things to make it look like they have more than they do.
I'm looking for a new car right now and I can pay cash for whatever car I want, but I like Mazdas, which I believe is considered an "economy" car. Whatever, I don't car about that ****, I like what I like. I will probably get the top of the line model but that's because I want the bells and whistles, not to show off, that's obnoxious.
I live in a SoCal beach neighborhood. I am literally surrounded by multi million dollar homes, most of the cars I see are Hondas, Toyotas, Subaru... One guy across the street has a Cayenne that he is obsessed with. A crew of detailers come out every few months to work on it, but it's getting older and starting to look a bit dated, so it's not particularly flashy.
What do you consider a good/bad Personal income and a good/bad Household Income? Please also state your Metropolitan area.
PERSONAL INCOMES
Very Low Salary: Under 25k (most service and unskilled jobs)
Low Salary: $25k-35k (most entry level college grad jobs & experienced unskilled jobs)
Decent Salary: $35k-49k (most non-mgmt office workers and most skilled trade workers)
Good Salary: $50K-79K (most middle management jobs)
Great Salary: 80k-99k (most higher management and professional jobs)
Amazing Salary: 100k and higher (most senior directors/executives, doctorates and successful entrepreneurs)
HOUSEHOLD INCOMES (not including childless ppl who live alone)
Very Low HHI: Under $50k (poor households)
Low HHI: $50k-74k (working class households)
Decent HHI: $75k-89k (lower middle class households)
Good HHI: $90k-129k (solidly middle class households)
Great HHI: $130k-199k (upper middle class households)
Amazing HHI: 200k and higher (wealthy households)
Metropolitan Area: NYC area/suburbs (yeah, I know in many parts of the country, things are completely different, lol)
Either your numbers seem VERY low for the NYC metro area or A LOT has changed in 5 years. These are more accurate figures on my opinion and this is for somebody who works in the city but lives in the outer-boroughs/suburbs.
PERSONAL INCOMES
Very Low Salary: Under 38k (most service and unskilled jobs)
Low Salary: $38k-55k (most entry level college grad jobs & experienced unskilled jobs)
Decent Salary: $55k-80k (most non-mgmt office workers and most skilled trade workers)
Good Salary: $80K-130K (most middle management jobs)
Great Salary: 130k-200k (most higher management and professional jobs)
Amazing Salary: 200k and higher (most directors/executives, doctorates and successful entrepreneurs)
HOUSEHOLD INCOMES (not including childless ppl who live alone)
Very Low HHI: Under $60k (poor households)
Low HHI: $60k-90k (working class households)
Decent HHI: $90k-120k (lower middle class households)
Good HHI: $120k-180k (solidly middle class households)
Great HHI: $180k-300k (upper middle class households)
Amazing HHI: 300k and higher (wealthy households)
Some may argue that the average household income in NYC is only around $55k (which is true) but most New Yorkers are struggling and living paycheck to paycheck. The suburban county median household incomes range from $75k-$120k with some of their hamlets/villages having median incomes of even twice of that. Within the NYC limits, there's also a HUGE subsidized population of people living in public housing that skew down the average.
Last edited by MemoryMaker; 11-16-2018 at 04:47 AM..
Assumes no debt other than an appropriate car loan and mortgage.
PERSONAL INCOMES for Single Households
Very Low Salary: Under 25k
Low Salary: $25k-60k
Decent Salary: $60k-80k
Good Salary: $80-100k
Great Salary: $100k-200k
Amazing Salary: 200k and higher
HOUSEHOLD INCOMES (not including childless ppl who live alone) - depends on household size. Income expressed in dollars per head.
Very Low HHI: Under $25k per capita
Low HHI: $25k-$50k per capita
Decent HHI: $50k-$70k per capita
Good HHI: $70k-$90k per capita
Great HHI: $90k-$180k per capita
Amazing HHI: $180k per capita and higher
Metropolitan Area: DFW
Last edited by albert648; 09-17-2020 at 05:42 PM..
Figured I'd supplement this with some data. Age plays a role in what most people would consider a "good" salary. The expectations for a 25 year old and a 45 year old will obviously be very different
Here are approximate earnings by age for fully-employed men with at least a 4-year college degree living in Manhattan.
25 Years Old
Median: $70,000
Top Quartile: $100,000
Top 10%: $135,000
Top 5%: $200,000
30 Years Old
Median: $110,000
Top Quartile: $160,000
Top 10%: $250,000
Top 5%: $340,000
35 Years Old
Median: $140,000
Top Quartile: $200,000
Top 10%: $350,000
Top 5%: $650,000
Either your numbers seem VERY low for the NYC metro area or A LOT has changed in 5 years. These are more accurate figures on my opinion and this is for somebody who works in the city but lives in the outer-boroughs/suburbs.
PERSONAL INCOMES
Very Low Salary: Under 38k (most service and unskilled jobs)
Low Salary: $38k-55k (most entry level college grad jobs & experienced unskilled jobs)
Decent Salary: $55k-80k (most non-mgmt office workers and most skilled trade workers)
Good Salary: $80K-130K (most middle management jobs)
Great Salary: 130k-200k (most higher management and professional jobs)
Amazing Salary: 200k and higher (most directors/executives, doctorates and successful entrepreneurs)
HOUSEHOLD INCOMES (not including childless ppl who live alone)
Very Low HHI: Under $60k (poor households)
Low HHI: $60k-90k (working class households)
Decent HHI: $90k-120k (lower middle class households)
Good HHI: $120k-180k (solidly middle class households)
Great HHI: $180k-300k (upper middle class households)
Amazing HHI: 300k and higher (wealthy households)
Some may argue that the average household income in NYC is only around $55k (which is true) but most New Yorkers are struggling and living paycheck to paycheck. The suburban county median household incomes range from $75k-$120k with some of their hamlets/villages having median incomes of even twice of that. Within the NYC limits, there's also a HUGE subsidized population of people living in public housing that skew down the average.
A decent salary to me means that I can live life the way I'm accustomed to in terms of living conditions and leisure, which means roughly 40K in cash per year. Significantly less in a pandemic. But somewhat lower would also be considered decent. I could adjust costs and be fine.
Good would mean saving maybe 10K per year, and great would be saving 20-30K per year (includes all 401K and cash savings) and I don't need to make anymore than that.
I could care less about how much more you make, and how much more your kid makes at age 22 than I make at age 56...
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Since this thread started in 2013, there have been big changes due to the increased cost of living. Currently, in our area, where the median home price is now $990k:
Good $120k
Low $70k (Qualifies for free school lunch programs)
Decent $100k
Great $200k
We are moving soon and stumbled on this thread. Very informative so I figured I'd weigh in and resurrect it in 2022. I am in Madison, WI
PERSONAL INCOMES
Very Low Salary: Under 32k (most service and unskilled jobs) Even gas stations and many fast food places pay more than this now
Low Salary: $32k-48k (most entry level college grad jobs & experienced unskilled jobs)
Decent Salary: $48k-70k (most non-mgmt office workers and most skilled trade workers)
Good Salary: $70K-105K (most middle management jobs)
Great Salary: 105k-160k (most higher management and professional jobs)
Amazing Salary: 160k and higher (most directors/executives, doctorates and successful entrepreneurs)
HOUSEHOLD INCOMES (not including childless ppl who live alone) Depends on children, if more than 2 then numbers need to go up
Very Low HHI: Under $40k (poor households)
Low HHI: $40k-65k (working class households)
Decent HHI: $65k-105k (lower middle class households)
Good HHI: $105k-150k (solidly middle class households)
Great HHI: $150k-250k (upper middle class households)
Amazing HHI: 250k-350k (Semi -wealthy households)
Amazing HHI: 350k+ (wealthy households)
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