The Household Income You'll Need To Feel Financially Comfortable In 2026

For members of America's working class, it has become increasingly difficult to earn a salary that allows them to feel financially stable. This comes at a time when the prices of essential household items have jumped due to rising inflation, pushing the consumer price index higher. It is this fact that has led experts and lenders to tell GOBankingrates that a family will need to make $80,000 to $90,000 a year to stay comfortable as prices continue to rise in 2026.

GOBankingrates did note that the money needed to feel comfortable is highly state-dependent. Jimmy Fuentes of California Hard Money Lender told GOBankingrates that inflation would cost families in the long run. The lender said, "It [inflation] would also require that the average American family earn a minimum salary of $80,000 to $90,000 every year as they would just be able to have a reasonable standard of living, as the inflation rate is around 3%." This salary is notably higher than the median income in the United States, with the weekly median income in the nation sitting at $1,196 in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A 2025 CBS News poll of over 2,000 adults found that 61% of Americans believe the American economy is uncertain. This uncertainty has contributed to what has made a comfortable salary so lofty. In fact, some generations like Gen Z consider you upper class if your salary is above $75,000, far below $90,000. The salary produced by Fuentees takes into account rising costs across multiple areas, not just groceries. While everyday expenses are rising with inflation, mortgage rates and car loan costs are also at 10-year highs. Additionally, home prices remain high, with experts like Berkshire Hathaway not predicting them to drop. These factors are part of what has led to the need for such a high salary to feel comfortable and save in the coming year.

Importantly, the goal of a financially comfortable future has begun to slip out of reach for many Americans. This is in part because wages are not rising at the same rate as inflation, leading more Americans to live paycheck to paycheck. This fact has prompted The Bank of America Institute to report that nearly a quarter of Americans live paycheck to paycheck in 2025, spending the majority of their income on necessities. To lower the salary needed to be comfortable, inflation will need to come down, or wages need to rise.