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Business

Some people making at least $5M still think they’re poor, stress over finances: report

By
Shannon Thaler
Published Aug. 14, 2023
Updated Aug. 14, 2023, 10:31 a.m. ET

They may be richer than you are, but they don’t feel rich.

A survey conducted by Bloomberg of 1,000 Americans making at least $175,000 a year — putting them in the top 10% of US tax filers — revealed that 25% say they are either “very poor,” “poor” or “getting by but things are tight.”

The outlet surveyed people who have good jobs — including lawyers, construction company owners, doctors and franchise bosses — and who own their homes and have savings for retirement.

Still, only 50% described themselves as “comfortable” and only a quarter said they felt “rich” or “very rich.”

Some of the respondents making upwards of $5 million were among those who said they felt broke, according to Bloomberg.

Nearly 60% of the high-earning respondents said they worry about money, and about 25% don’t think they’ll be better off financially than their parents.

Aside from inflation, which has made everything from groceries and college tuition to travel, car payments and taking out a loan more expensive, Bloomberg attributed the responses to social media, which encourages users to compare their lifestyles with others.

A survey of 1,000 objectively rich Americans making at least $175,000 per year revealed that nearly 60% worry about money. A handful of respondents making at least $5 million said they still consider themselves to be poor.
A survey of 1,000 objectively rich Americans making at least $175,000 per year revealed that nearly 60% worry about money. A handful of respondents making at least $5 million said they still consider themselves to be poor. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Many of those in search of feeling wealthier have considered ditching their real estate in expensive cities like New York City, Los Angeles and Miami in favor of parts of the US with lower taxes and costs of living, such as South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia, Bloomberg reported.

The Post utilized Bloomberg’s comparison tool — which was created using data from the Census Bureau — to show how richer or poorer earners would be in a different part of the US.

A professional making $200,000 in the New York metro area — a salary that’s more than 89.6% of households in the US — would feel a whopping $41,772 richer decamping to Myrtle Beach, S.C., thanks to a 17.3% savings on cost of living and a nearly $10,000 decrease in housing costs.

And if that same well-paid worker moved from New York to Houston, Texas, they could expect to feel about $30,000 richer as the cost of living is 13% lower and annual housing costs are about $6,100 less in the southern city.

In general, a New Yorker’s cost of living would be reduced tremendously if they moved out of Manhattan — where the average overhead is 137.6% above the national average, according to SmartAsset.

Many high-earning Manhattanites have ditched the Big Apple’s exorbitant rents and taxes for the sun-soaked beaches of Miami in a pandemic-fueled exodus.

Though the demand for the Sunshine State has edged real estate prices higher, Bloomberg found that New Yorker’s bringing in $200,000 per year would still feel $8,553 richer if they moved to Miami, where the cost of living is only 22.8% above the national average.

Many high earners are relocating from expensive cities -- like Manhattan, where the average overhead is 137.6% above the national average -- to parts of the US with lower taxes and costs of living.
Many high earners are relocating from expensive cities — like Manhattan, where the average overhead is 137.6% above the national average — to parts of the US with lower taxes and costs of living. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Annual housing costs in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area are about $4,000 less than in its northeastern counterpart.

Anecdotes from objectively wealthy individuals revealed why so many people raking in six figures and living in elaborate abodes still feel financial pressure.

Debra Corbin, a 67-year-old retiree who lives in a home worth more than $1.3 million in Naples, Fla., told Bloomberg: “I still worry about money. I think rich is subjective. When I’m in southern Illinois where we’re from I feel rich. When I’m in Naples, I feel blessed. Down here it’s hard to feel rich because there are billionaires down here.”

Meanwhile, James Bramble, a 53-year-old attorney in Salt Lake City who makes about $350,000 annually, said that to feel rich would “no longer having to depend on money — like if you didn’t work, you’d still be okay for the rest of your life, and I’m not there.”