Millennials Consider You 'Upper-Class' If Your Salary Is Above This Number

If you're wondering what it takes to be considered "upper class," it depends on a lot of factors, including your salary, location, and overall net worth. But it also depends on who you ask, as different generations have varying ideas of how much income you need to be officially "upper class". If you ask millennials, the biggest percentage believe a salary above $100,001 will get you there.

A recent survey by GOBankingRates asked more than 1,000 Americans — a combination of millennials, boomers, and Gen-Zers — what salary they believed was needed to be considered upper class. While there is no clear definition of what constitutes an upper-class salary, for the survey, GOBankingRates ran on the assumption that qualifying means earning at least double the median household income in your state. For a four-person household in North Carolina, for example, that would mean making at least $227,586 per year. However, that number varies considerably depending on where you live. For the survey, millennials, who are currently between 29 and 44 years old, were broken down into two age groups: 29 to 34 and 35 to 44. The result was that the greatest percentage of millennials — 38% of the older group and 36% of their younger counterparts — agreed that a salary between $100,001 and $250,000 was the sweet spot to be considered upper class.

A smaller number of millennials believe it takes at least half a million dollars a year to qualify as upper class. Among younger millennials, about 14% said a salary of $500,000 or more is required to reach that status. Interestingly, although money-phobia has been crushing millennials and Gen Zers, the youngest millennials had the fewest respondents who felt that the threshold was appropriate; 17% of Gen Zers agreed. Older millennials and baby boomers were more likely to view $500,000 as the benchmark for upper-class status — 21% and 20%, respectively.

The survey also found that more millennials than boomers believe you're considered upper class with a salary of $75,001 to $100,000. If you're a millennial in this earning category looking to join the throes of the upper class, it may be a good idea to check out some of the cheapest places to live; residing in a more affordable location will help you stretch your money further. If relocating is not an option, it may be worth considering a career pivot to one of the higher-paying jobs in the U.S. This may be more attainable than you think, as more than one million people in the U.S. earn $500,000 or more, according to ADP Research.