What Does Six Figures Really Mean in Today's Economy?

The concept of earning six figures has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years. What was once considered the ultimate financial benchmark has become increasingly meaningless in many parts of the country. As inflation, housing crises, and regional cost-of-living disparities reshape the economic landscape, experts are questioning whether this traditional marker of success still holds any relevance in 2025.

From Yesterday’s Achievement to Today’s Baseline

To understand how far we’ve fallen from the prestige of six figures, consider this: Anthony Termini, an investment professional with over 40 years of wealth management expertise, notes that earning $100,000 in the 1980s represented genuine financial success. “Making a hundred grand during the age of ‘conspicuous consumption’ was an impressive benchmark,” he explains. “By today’s standards, that’s the equivalent of almost $400,000.”

This inflation-adjusted figure reveals the stunning erosion of purchasing power. If you want to achieve what a six-figure earner accomplished four decades ago, you’d need to make $400,000 today. Yet Termini has observed that hitting even that target no longer carries the same prestige—because the fundamental costs of living have outpaced general inflation in ways that raw salary numbers fail to capture.

The Housing Crisis Destroys Geographic Equity

The real estate market exposes the fatal flaw in treating six figures as a universal marker of prosperity. While earning $100,000 might sound respectable nationwide, the ability to afford housing—historically the largest household expense—varies wildly by region.

In rural Midwest America, a $500,000 home represents substantial property. In California, where median home prices hover around $900,000, that same investment barely secures a modest dwelling. Yet the probability of earning $400,000 (inflation-adjusted six figures) differs dramatically between these regions. Federal Reserve data shows median personal income in the Midwest sits closer to $45,000, making the gap between income and housing costs a chasm that no single six-figure salary can bridge.

As Termini concludes, “Making it big today might require owning a home worth a million dollars or more—far beyond what traditional six-figure thinking suggests.”

Geographic Arbitrage: Why Location Destroys the Narrative

Sharad Gondaliya, a CPA and finance expert, provides a stark comparison. “Two decades ago, a six-figure salary placed you squarely in the upper-middle class. It comfortably covered housing, transportation, childcare, and retirement savings across most U.S. cities.” That security has evaporated.

“In 2025, the same income feels mid-tier, especially in high-cost urban centers where basic expenses consume most of that paycheck,” Gondaliya observes. Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals the average U.S. household now spends over $70,000 annually before accounting for savings or debt repayment.

For single earners in major metropolitan areas, $100,000 leaves minimal financial cushion once taxes, rent or mortgage, healthcare, and student loans are deducted. The math becomes even grimmer in expensive cities: “In San Francisco, $100,000 might feel like $40,000 after factoring in taxes and living costs,” Gondaliya explains. “In Des Moines, it still provides genuine stability and the ability to save.” This geographic arbitrage renders any universal definition of financial success obsolete.

Redefining Success Beyond Income

If six figures no longer signals prosperity, what does? Both experts pivot toward broader metrics of financial wellbeing.

Net Worth as the Better Indicator

Termini advocates for net worth over income as a true measure of success. The median American household net worth sits around $193,000—hardly impressive. Achieving top 10% status requires approximately $970,900 in net worth, according to Forbes data.

Retirement Readiness as the Ultimate Test

The most revealing standard comes from retirement planning benchmarks. Fidelity recommends accumulating ten times your annual income by age 67 to finance a comfortable retirement. Using the inflation-adjusted six-figure target of $400,000 annually means you’d need $4,000,000 saved by retirement—an astronomical figure beyond most Americans’ reach.

Outcome-Based Success Markers

Gondaliya argues for a fundamental shift from income-centric to outcome-focused definitions of success. Rather than asking “How much do you earn?” the question becomes “Can you sustain your lifestyle without financial stress?”

This includes maintaining six to twelve months of expenses in emergency savings, affording a home in a desirable neighborhood (increasingly difficult as prices soar), and crucially, living comfortably below your means rather than at or above them.

“You can earn $150,000 and still feel financially strapped if spending exceeds income,” Gondaliya notes. “The new measure of success isn’t what you make—it’s what you keep, and whether you have room to grow.”

The Bottom Line

The six-figure salary, once America’s golden ticket to the upper-middle class, has become a hollow milestone. Regional disparities, inflation-adjusted realities, and the explosion in essential costs have transformed this benchmark into an outdated relic. Success in today’s economy means achieving financial independence through accumulated wealth, sustainable spending habits, and the flexibility to weather economic uncertainty—not simply hitting an arbitrary income target.