Charles Schwab has released additional findings from its 2024 Modern Wealth Survey. Since 2017, Schwab has collected data annually on Americans’ perspectives on saving, spending, investing and wealth. This year’s study reveals that Americans now think it takes an average of US$2.5 million to be considered wealthy – which is up slightly from 2023 and 2022 (US$2.2 million).
By generation, Boomers have the highest threshold of what it takes to be considered wealthy, at US$2.8 million, while the younger generations, Millennials and Gen Z, have lower thresholds of what is considered wealthy. At the same time, Americans say that the average net worth required to be financially comfortable is US$778,000. The average net worth required for financial comfort reached a peak last year at US$1 million, but this year, Americans’ estimations are more in line with 2022 (US$775,000) and show an upward trend when compared with 2021 (US$624,000).
When it comes to geographic region, Californians have the highest threshold of what it takes to be wealthy, with San Franciscans saying it takes US$4.4 million and Southern Californians indicating it takes an average net worth of US$3.4 million. Survey respondents who live in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix and Dallas express a lower threshold of what it takes to be wealthy when compared with the national average.
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