Three-quarters of Americans say they do not feel financially secure, up from 72% who said this last year, Bankrate reported Monday.
Respondents said they would need an annual salary of $186,000 to feel secure — more than twice the median income of $79,209.
Bankrate's report is based on an online survey it commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct in mid-May involving 2,407 U.S. adults.
Feeling Insecure
Forty-two percent of baby boomers in the survey and 37% of Gen Xers said they were not completely financially secure. This compared with 21% of millennials and 13% of Generation Z who said they felt this way.
At the same time, 64% of Gen Zers and 53% of millennials who said they are not financially secure expect to be so someday, compared with 48% of Gen Xers and 26% of boomers. Overall, only 15% of Gen Xers said they were financially secure, versus 24% of Gen Zers, 26% of millennials and 32% of boomers.
Forty-six percent of respondents said that earning an amount less than $100,000 per year would be enough to make them feel financially secure, while 43% said they would need to earn at least that much. These include 25% who said $150,000 or more, 14% who said $200,000 or more and 7% who said $500,000 or more.
Here's a demographic breakdown of what American workers in the survey said they would need to earn annually to feel financially comfortable:
- Men: $197,000
- Women: $176,000
- White Americans: $171,000
- Black Americans: $282,000
- Hispanic Americans: $173,000
- Gen Zers: $200,000
- Millennials: $199,000
- Gen Xers: $183,000
- Boomers: $171,000
- Parents with children younger than 18: $215,000
- Parents with children older than 18: $192,000
- Adults with no children: $172,000
"Life always seems like it'd be better with just a little bit more money to spare," Bankrate analyst Sarah Foster said in a statement. "That's even more true when the items Americans both need and want have been climbing in price."
In the four years since the onset of the pandemic, Foster noted, financial comfort appears to be a privilege, afforded only to those wealthy enough to withstand the effects of inflation.
Prospects of Getting Ahead
Among survey respondents who had an idea of what they would need to earn in order to attain financial security, only 37% said they were likely to earn that salary in their lifetime, including 16% who said it was highly likely.
