100,000 salary after taxes in Pittsburgh? (Wilkinsburg: insurance, neighborhood, maintenance)

[wanderlust76]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Was my post confusing? I posted lists and links to surprising high paying jobs and shared a few others not on the list.

I never claimed all applied to the Pittsburgh area, and I never said I knew a database administrator personally.

Yeah I was just sayin'. I didn't mean you specifically I just meant anyone in general and that salaries can really vary. I wouldn't enter any field banking on making big money unless it's one of the main professional careers. Especially in this economy where there are less people than ever making it to upper middle class.

[Benzman66]

Now days, even store managers at Target, Wal Mart, and other large retailers make over $100K a year with bonuses. I know a few managers personally that are in the $200k range right here in the Pittsburgh area.

[Clint.]

This article is a little dated - 2007 - but it's unlikely the numbers have changed significantly since. Maybe they have even gone downward a little since it was before the "great recession", but since this is the recovery maybe it's all balanced out: Does a $97,000 Salary Make You Upper-Class? - The Wealth Report - WSJ

An individual earning $97,000 or more a year is in the top 7% of individual earners. Households with income of $97,000 and above are top 20%.

What I see here are a lot anecdotes, probably from people who earn above average income themselves and associate almost exclusively with their financial peers. If not just relatively innocent attentional or some other unconscious bias or presumptuousness, who knows what sort of twisted thinking makes people think that being in the top 7% or 20% is no big deal.

Although of course it is convention to deny living a particularly exceptional life, when you can say you earn more than 93% of the rest of the total population it is a big deal. And anyone who thinks it isn't really doesn't have much credibility. I'm not begrudging anyone, just that there should be some informed perspective.

[trackstar13]

Clint

I think there is a difference between what you are saying and simply saying that certain professions like pharmacists and medical doctors have very high starting salaries so it is not unheard of for someone who is late 20's or early 30's to make 100k plus for their salary. It is also interesting to note that many medical professionals have extremely high levels of student loan debt and their first decade in the workforce may be dedicated to paying down these student loans.

[gg]

It is generally known that if you disclose your salary, you can't be considered "upper class", regardless of the amount it is.

[XRiteMA98]

Gush, we sidetracked OP's initial question badly I hope he forgives us

Hopes, usually statistics like these speak - at least in my understanding, if nothig specific is stated - about median values. Sure a DBA in California/NY/Boston and other big cities will make well over a hundred grand. But so will they in other professions, not necessarily glamorous or requiring a college degree.

[Clint.]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

It is generally known that if you disclose your salary, you can't be considered "upper class", regardless of the amount it is.

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

Gush, we sidetracked OP's initial question badly I hope he forgives us

Well...that's the sort of thing that happens when you introduce yourself by saying much money you make.

[Velvet Jones]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

He said "Shadyside", so 3% it is. Of course if you are out of the city, most are 1%. If you have friends in Shadyside, that could be fun.

Sorry, missed the Shadyside part. Still, I would seriously recommend against living in the city if you make good money. Why pay an extra $2000 a year or more for virtually nothing. I'm sure Pittsburgh City council thinks you're paying for the privilege of living in their Democrat utopia.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by track2514

It is also interesting to note that many medical professionals have extremely high levels of student loan debt and their first decade in the workforce may be dedicated to paying down these student loans.

That's why I mentioned the other careers that don't require as much education as lawyers and doctors.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Velvet Jones

Sorry, missed the Shadyside part. Still, I would seriously recommend against living in the city if you make good money. Why pay an extra $2000 a year or more for virtually nothing. I'm sure Pittsburgh City council thinks you're paying for the privilege of living in their Democrat utopia.

Because "virtually nothing" is very subjective. OP has friends in Shadyside, he may want to be active in nightlife, go to city restaurants, be around more single people, or maybe he'd simply be closer to work. Any number of things could justify living in the city. At most salary levels just the commute savings alone would justify it, but even at OP's salary range there are still valid reasons to want to live in the city even with a 3% income tax.