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Americans with six-figure incomes are in 'survival mode'
(www.usatoday.com)
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this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2025
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Well. I made 35k in 1996 so apparently my salary has kept up with inflation, maybe? Google says that is like 75k today. 106.4% increase.
Together we do hit that 6 figures but
Housing cost increased by 500%
Grocery cost increased here by 500%
Electric bills by 300%
Those are the essentials, right? Other things, clothing and gas, didn't go up as much but I drive less and (except for menopause, damn you) stay pretty much the same size and bought some items that last well, so it's more discretionary.
I figure I'd have to be making closer to 200k to be making my 1996 salary with regard to essentials. Maybe more. I'm certainly NOT making that.
I think a simpler way of pointing this out is that the median US household income is $80k. A $100k household income is only 25% higher than average. It's a pretty normal income. We just have "a six figure salary" as part of our cultural memory as some huge amount.