Really? Not even close to cracking the 5%?

[Rukh O'Rorke]

www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/how-much-you-need-to-be-in-the-top-5-percent-in-each-state/ss-BBVwrNa?li=BBnb7Kz#image=18

sigh! This seems a bit different from other spots I have looked at. Thoughts?

Illinois

Average top 5% income: $394,103

Lower limit of top 5%: $227,304

In the Land of Lincoln, you might need a politician’s or a lawyer’s income to crack the top 5 percent. It’s even harder to make it to the top 1 percent, where the average salary comes in at over $1.4 million.

Maybe I can get there before retirement 


I guess I will need to give up on aiming for 1%er status.....

[Rukh O'Rorke]

I thought so!

this one puts me at 93%ile - i think this one is nationwide.


dqydj.com/income-percentile-calculator/


the graph shows that it is a very steep curve to advance each percentile towards the end there...

[NastyWoman]

Well, not even doubling my salary will make me a 5%  Of course in my state that means that I would need to earn at least $250k+ to meet that goal.

Nationwide I am at 92.8% but most likely I don't reach even that in my state...

[Deleted]

I'm sitting right at the 50th percentile which is actually a little better than I thought.  I guess I'm used to averages being reported for household, not individual, income.

I expected the top 5% incomes would be really high.  All the surgeons and CEO and business owners... I'll probably never crack 6 figures in my life unless something crazy happens.  I look back at my SS wages report and there hasn't been a huge change in 30 years.  I just work less than I did back then.   I have a goal to hit 50K this year which would be a first, but I don't know if I'll be able to do that.   Career building has never been one of my strengths.

[imawino]

Apr 17, 2019 11:23:26 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/how-much-you-need-to-be-in-the-top-5-percent-in-each-state/ss-BBVwrNa?li=BBnb7Kz#image=18

sigh! This seems a bit different from other spots I have looked at. Thoughts?

Illinois

Average top 5% income: $394,103

Lower limit of top 5%: $227,304

In the Land of Lincoln, you might need a politician’s or a lawyer’s income to crack the top 5 percent. It’s even harder to make it to the top 1 percent, where the average salary comes in at over $1.4 million.

Maybe I can get there before retirement 


I guess I will need to give up on aiming for 1%er status.....

Is this household income?  It's gonna be especially tough to crack as a singleton but kudos to you for getting closer.  You'll do it, I know!!  In the interim, add your kids incomes if  they have any. 

[tractor]

I’m exactly the same percentage wether I use state or country. Looks like I won’t be in the top 5% ever. I am in the top 20% though so there’s some hope for me.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Lol ok including that we are getting closer!

[TheOtherMe]

58th percentile which is amazing when I think of all of the families trying to make it on much less than I do.

[chapeau]

Even if you add a zero to the right side of my salary I don't make the average for my PA's top 5%. Not surprising at all...

And I'm at a depressing 37% in the country. Wow. I either need a new job or to count the value of my benefits in this number. Just counting the health insurance makes me 68% nationwide. That's better, I guess.

[NastyWoman]

Apr 17, 2019 16:36:11 GMT -5 chapeau said:

Even if you add a zero to the right side of my salary I don't make the average for my PA's top 5%. Not surprising at all...

And I'm at a depressing 37% in the country. Wow. I either need a new job or to count the value of my benefits in this number. Just counting the health insurance makes me 68% nationwide. That's better, I guess.

I am assuming you are talking about adding a zero before the decimal point  If they did that for me I would blow it out of the water even here, but nah... that's not going to happen

[Bonny]

Apr 17, 2019 11:48:49 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Well, not even doubling my salary will make me a 5%  Of course in my state that means that I would need to earn at least $250k+ to meet that goal.

Nationwide I am at 92.8% but most likely I don't reach even that in my state...

Lol, we're headed in the other direction. Our "regular" income has us qualifying for poverty level in the SF Bay Area.

[NastyWoman]

Apr 17, 2019 18:09:38 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Apr 17, 2019 11:48:49 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Well, not even doubling my salary will make me a 5%  Of course in my state that means that I would need to earn at least $250k+ to meet that goal.

Nationwide I am at 92.8% but most likely I don't reach even that in my state...

Lol, we're headed in the other direction. Our "regular" income has us qualifying for poverty level in the SF Bay Area. [img src="http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/tongue2.png" alt="" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png" class="smile"]

This morning on the radio there was some (weird) economics professor who claimed that to have a living income you needed at least $125k in our area and ~ $400k to be solidly middle class.  I do believe this person had at least one screw loose but still...

Of course it included the rental cost which is horrible, but I believe what this person did next was extrapolating that cost to everything else. And while it is expensive around here, it is not that bad. But what do I know since I own my condo outright and have no debt so that makes things easy. 

[bean29]

I am about 68%, DH is pretty much at 92%. Our household income puts us within about $1,000 of the top 5% for state. Im on extension, when I am done, we will prob be in top 5%. Why are we so broke?

[TheHaitian]

Apr 17, 2019 18:38:07 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I am about 68%, DH is pretty much at 92%. Our household income puts us within about $1,000 of the top 5% for state. Im on extension, when I am done, we will prob be in top 5%. Why are we so broke?

Care to loan me some $$$

[bean29]

Apr 17, 2019 18:49:59 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Apr 17, 2019 18:38:07 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I am about 68%, DH is pretty much at 92%. Our household income puts us within about $1,000 of the top 5% for state. Im on extension, when I am done, we will prob be in top 5%. Why are we so broke?

Care to loan me some $$$

Ha! I live in WI, you & Mrs. Carl probably make way more than us.

[ohmomto2boys]

Ohio

Average top 5% income: $310,017

Lower limit of top 5%: $183,823

Ohio is another Midwestern state with salaries that fall just a bit below the average for the country as a whole. A salary of $858,965 is enough to put you right at the average income of a 1-percenter.

We are about $45k from the lower limit.  I have no issue with where we sit salary wise (I only work part-time).

[jd2005]

I can taste the FL lower 5%!!!  So close.

[tcu2003]

Kansas

Average top 5% income: $326,661

Lower limit of top 5%: $189,252

Like many of its Midwestern brethren, Kansas has a relatively low barrier to entry into the 5 percent club. However, its overall salary picture stands out in one significant aspect: The average salary of the state’s 1-percenters is over $1 million

Combined, we barely cross into the lower limit of the top 5% for our state, and are clearly nowhere near the average top 5%.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Apr 17, 2019 14:10:54 GMT -5 imawino said:

Apr 17, 2019 11:23:26 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/how-much-you-need-to-be-in-the-top-5-percent-in-each-state/ss-BBVwrNa?li=BBnb7Kz#image=18

sigh! This seems a bit different from other spots I have looked at. Thoughts?





Maybe I can get there before retirement 


I guess I will need to give up on aiming for 1%er status.....

Is this household income?  It's gonna be especially tough to crack as a singleton but kudos to you for getting closer.  You'll do it, I know!!  In the interim, add your kids incomes if  they have any. 

still thinking about this, and it's true - not just the yearly income, but being a single mom with no child support or co-parent for so many years. It does affect the career. I couldn't take as many risks, heavy travel, etc. When I was looking for work I was usually pretty desperate and didn't know much about negotiation - so even lost out there.

I do think I've done pretty good all things considered, but not sure of any further career advancement. I'm 7.5 years away from the earliest SS pay at 62, and sometimes, I'm not sure I'm going to make it! Unfortunately, my niche area does require late night conference calls (7-8:30) and many weekend days in all day meetings and traveling. I'd really love a M-F, 9-5 gig- with 6 weeks of vacation. I think you can work longer in that kind of role. I'm also at the job level I've been aiming for for a lot years. Which is great! But - it would take some thought and preparation for the next step - and I'm not sure it's what I want to do professionally - at least in this organization. 

But even if I sat in this job without a raise until retirement (hopefully at least some raises!) I'd be good. I feel good about my educational and career attainment, and the money is enough for security in retirement. When I pull the plug will depend on how I'm feeling vs money saved. If I make it to 70, my ss check would be 3400/month. That would be a pretty decent foundation. I would also have about 2-3 million in the retirement coffers - not counting any more contributions, just growth on what I have.

The picture at 62 is not so rosy! But definitely doable! 1700/month SS and nearly 1.5 million. Again - not counting any more contributions, just growth on what I have. I can probably get to 2 million if I contribute the max and get my employer contributions (after my 1 year mark).

[Bonny]

Apr 17, 2019 18:19:15 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Apr 17, 2019 18:09:38 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Lol, we're headed in the other direction. Our "regular" income has us qualifying for poverty level in the SF Bay Area. [img src="http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/tongue2.png" alt="" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png" class="smile"]

This morning on the radio there was some (weird) economics professor who claimed that to have a living income you needed at least $125k in our area and ~ $400k to be solidly middle class.  I do believe this person had at least one screw loose but still...

Of course it included the rental cost which is horrible, but I believe what this person did next was extrapolating that cost to everything else. And while it is expensive around here, it is not that bad. But what do I know since I own my condo outright and have no debt so that makes things easy. 

I agree that for "new comers" those numbers probably ring true. I think people do need to think long and hard about the COLA here and not just chase the $$$.

I shudder a little about being overrun by smug engineers who think they are so smart because they make lots of money without understanding entirety of the equation. I know because I'm married to one of those former engineer types. The good news is that by socializing with other people he's gotten better balance. It's a lot of work though!

[Works4me]

DGD of a friend is graduating with a degree in engineering. She is 22/23 and has a job in Silicon Valley starting at $85,000. Unfortunately, that is not really a comfortable living there, which is a rather difficult concept to explain.

[Value Buy]

Apr 19, 2019 8:09:13 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

I make more than we need for our day to day and monthly, and we put away for retirement.


Life is very good! 

This.
I could care less about being in the top 5%
Carries too much responsibility to maintain the status
I think I checked something like this out when we retired and were not even at the 50% level for our state of Indiana.
It really did not matter. We are living our life in retirement very happily and not spending that much. On the other hand, maybe we do not know we are unhappy and suffering.......
Working costs a lot of money!