Getting Serious About Salaries: Breaking Down The $525,000 Dream Income

In a 2023 study, millennials reported needing to earn $525,000 a year to be happy. But $525,000 is wildly out of step with the median income for any generation, in any state. The actual percentage of the U.S. population who earn more than $500,000 per year is less than 1%. There are certainly millennials who have achieved this financial milestone, however, blindly pursuing such a lofty goal, especially one that is realistically unattainable for most, could quickly become disempowering. A better approach would be to consider your own personal financial situation and run the numbers to determine what you really need to earn to achieve your personal financial goals.