Six Figures Was Once the Sign of Success — What Is It Now?
Written by
Laura Beck
Edited by
Amen Oyiboke
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A six-figure salary used to be the gold standard of making it in America. It meant you’d arrived, that you could afford a comfortable life without constantly worrying about money. But inflation and skyrocketing costs have completely changed what $100,000 actually buys you in 2025.
A six-figure salary used to be the gold standard of making it in America. It meant you’d arrived, that you could afford a comfortable life without constantly worrying about money. But inflation and skyrocketing costs have completely changed what $100,000 actually buys you in 2025.
The question isn’t whether six figures still matter — it’s whether it means anything at all anymore.
When Six Figures Actually Meant Something
Anthony Termini, an investment professional with over 40 years of wealth management experience, put the shift in perspective. “Making ‘six figures’ was a sign of career success around the time rock band U2 released its first No. 1 album,” said Termini. Back in the 1980s, earning $100,000 carried real weight.
“Making a hundred grand in the 1980s — the age of ‘conspicuous consumption’ — was an impressive benchmark,” Termini explained. “It was the equivalent to almost $400,000 today.”
So if you adjust for inflation, the new six figures should be $400,000. And Termini has heard people brag about earning exactly that amount. But hitting that number by itself doesn’t carry the same meaning it once did.
The Housing Problem Changes Everything
Raw salary numbers don’t tell the whole story when the cost of major life purchases has exploded beyond general inflation. Termini pointed to housing as the clearest example, with skyrocketing housing costs.
But even that comparison misses the regional divide. “A half-million-dollar home in rural Midwest America is likely much bigger than the same-priced home in California, where the median-priced home is [almost] $900,000,” Termini explained. And the probability of earning $400,000 in the rural Midwest is much lower than in a big California city. The Federal Reserve data he cited shows median personal income in the Midwest sits closer to $45,000.
His conclusion hit hard: “So ‘making it big’ (like earning $100,000 in 1980) might require owning (with a mortgage) a home that’s worth a lot more than $500,000 — maybe closer to a million.”
Geography Makes Six Figures Meaningless
Sharad Gondaliya, a CPA and finance expert at Gondaliya CPA, shared how location destroys any universal meaning for six-figure incomes.
“Two decades ago, a six-figure salary placed you firmly in the upper-middle class,” he said. “It could comfortably cover housing, transportation, childcare, and retirement savings in most U.S. cities.”
That’s no longer true. “Fast-forward to 2025, and the same income feels mid, especially in high-cost areas where basic expenses eat up most of that paycheck,” said Gondaliya.
He pointed to Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing the average U.S. household now spends over $70,000 per year before even thinking about savings or debt payments.
“For single earners in major metros, $100,000 barely leaves breathing room once rent or a mortgage, healthcare, student loans, and taxes are accounted for,” he said.
The geographic split makes the same salary mean completely different things. “In San Francisco, $100,000 might feel like $40,000 once you factor in taxes and cost of living,” Gondaliya explained. “In Des Moines, it can still buy you stability and savings.”
The New Markers of Success
If six figures doesn’t cut it anymore, what does? Both experts pointed away from income alone toward broader measures of financial health.
Termini looked at net worth as a better indicator. “The median net worth in America is about $193,000,” he said. “So I think you’d need something considerably above that figure to demonstrate a ‘sign of success.'”
He calculated that reaching just the top 10% of household net worth requires about $970,900, according to Forbes. But retirement planning reveals even higher targets.
“Brokerage firm Fidelity says that you should have 10 times your annual income saved by age 67 to be able to finance a comfortable retirement,” Termini said. Using the inflation-adjusted six-figure benchmark of $400,000 means “you better have $4 million in the bank on the day of your retirement party.”
Gondaliya argued for shifting the definition of “success” from income to outcomes. “If six figures no longer signals financial freedom, what does?” he said. “Many experts point to a shift from income-based to outcome-based measures, which means that success is about financial independence and lifestyle security, not just earnings.”
His markers included having six to twelve months of expenses saved — a sign you’re not living beyond your means — and being able to afford a home in a desirable area, something fewer Americans can achieve as prices soar. “With home prices skyrocketing, simply being able to afford and maintain a home in a desirable area is a new marker of success,” he said.
The bottom line, according to Gondaliya: “You can earn $150,000 and still feel broke if your spending outpaces your peace of mind. The new measure of success is living well within your means, with room to grow.”
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