What lifestyle would someone earning $100k a year afford where you live?
September 28, 2025
What lifestyle would someone earning $100k a year afford where you live?
42 comments
I make that in Chicago. It affords me a decent apartment and a couple of vacations a year. I am nowhere near being able to buy a house or even move into a nice apartment.
In my hometown you’d be doing very well, probably top 10% of earners in the area.
edit: To make it even clearer, the median household income in my hometown was about $37k/year in the last census.
Depends on if that person is married, has kids, a mortgage, if married, does the wife work?
That is around the median household income in my city, so it’s comfortable but average. Like, you will have to budget carefully, but won’t be worrying about food, a house, the basics.
Firmly middle class. Decent single-family house, car, eat out once or twice a week, a “big” vacation once a year or so (think across the country or to Mexico or Canada)
A pretty good one. Can definitely afford to live with a family on a single income of that size in rural Maine.
I just moved to Jacksonville Florida, and honestly pretty good. That’s not Ferrari money but that’s definitely raise a small family money.
I’m in Manhattan in New York City so $100k nets a comfortable life with minimal frills if you’re single with a mortgage. A bit tough if you have kids and that’s your household income. You won’t be able to buy.
A single person could afford a good apartment or an OK townhouse.
They probably have a dependable used car, if they have one at all.
They have hobbies they can do locally. Once a year they go somewhere more exotic to do thoee hobbies. Once a year, they go somewhere else that isn’t in pursuit of their hobby, such as a destination wedding, ski trip, or family reunion.
That’s a little less than double the median household income where I live, so you’d be quite comfortable.
Among the highest earners in the area. “Lifestyle” depends entirely on spending habits. Are they at the casino every weekend, do they have 4 kids, do they have extravagant hobbies? I know high earners who spend every dime of every paycheck and have little equity or savings.
A single person making this amount could afford their own apartment and a car. They could probably afford to buy reasonably nice things and eat at restaurants maybe a couple times a week.
But a person supporting a family on this amount would struggle.
Not as much as it did 15 years ago, but still pretty good life. Couple small houses in my area that would be affordable for a single person at that wage, but childcare would destroy that pretty quickly.
I make a bit over 100k in a rural county where the median is 36k. I own a house (with a mortgage), drive a paid off 10 year old car, save a bit every month. I don’t buy anything extravagant/luxurious but have money to spend on hobbies and don’t really worry about prices of necessities.
You’d have yourself a nice double wide and a big ol truck here. 🤭
Upper middle class lifestyle, live in nice area, probably afford private school for kids, travel to Europe at least once a year, lots of PTO for sure
I have a friend whose wife makes $200k a year and they struggle to live. It all depends on one’s lifestyle and how many people you are supporting. He has 5 people in his household and they have two homes and two cars. He also makes about $80k a year, and they still struggle. (They live in the same area as me.)
I on the other hand manage on the poverty level in a high cost of living area and don’t feel in want. I also travel internationally every other year.
Austin:
You could lease in almost any neighborhood you want and probably not need roommates (it may be a very small place if you choose to live downtown). Buying would be tough unless you went with a 2 BR house or went out to the suburbs.
With kids, you can afford a small house zoned for good schools in the city, but you will have to budget pretty well. (I’m speaking from experience on this one.) If you went to the suburbs you could afford a larger house in a soulless neighborhood and have a nice car but you’d spend hours a day on crowded freeways commuting.
I can only speak for the “with kids” case, but that salary affords domestic vacations every year, vacations abroad every few years. You can grocery shop without using a calculator and have savings and investments.
Median household income where I live is around 80K.
A single person earning 100K would be living very comfortably. Upper middle class.
If they were single or only have a kid they do very well but if it’s a family of 4+ they be solidly middle class with just alittle extra per month to save.
I didn’t check it, but I think the average household income is around $83,000. That includes a lot of two income households. As mentioned, where one lives and how many children a family has are key variables. Plus it helps if you come from a well-to-do family who can help you financially and leave you money when they die. Another issue is sustainability. Most people I know with a good paying job hang on to it for dear life. Many people, including me , had a really good paying job but it didn’t last and take a lower paying job.
Solidly middle class
I think that’s realistically a very decent income for a single young person anywhere in the US—enough to rent *at least* a comfortable studio, eat out reasonably regularly, and maybe 1-2 vacations a year.
Depends if they bought a house before 2022 or not.
If not, they can have a nice 1 bedroom apartment or a 2-3 bedroom, 1 bathroom basic house built in the 1950s in one of the less desirable towns. Anything larger or located in one of the nicer towns will be too expensive for them using the 1/3 gross income rule.
If they already bought a house 5+ years ago when prices and interest rates were lower they could have a much nicer house and more disposable income.
Besides housing they could live comfortably but not lavishly. They can afford a decent new-ish car, but probably not a luxury make. They can afford to go out to eat once or twice a week, but not for every meal. They can afford entertainment. They can take one or two vacations each year, and can travel internationally.
You would have above the average income in my city and state. Average income for my city is $65k and state is about $88k.
A small condo or townhous and enough for the essentials with a little savings. DMV NOVA isnt NYC or Bay area in terms of spending power but not that far from it.
One click away from poverty
Northern Virginia (Washington, DC suburbs):
100k/yr is probably manageable for a single person. My family of four would have difficulty surviving on so little, and that’s with our mortgage being nearly paid off.
I make about that as a single woman in the Cleveland area. I do live below my means. I own my own home that will be paid off in the next couple of years. I drive a 3 year car. I am completely debt free besides the mortgage. I have a 6 figure savings account, investments, and retirement savings. I can afford to pay unexpected expenses like an emergency $8k vet bill. I just went to Disney World on a 3 week notice. Life is good.
In most of florida youd survive as long as you dont have a family
In central Illinois it affords me a house. A pretty decent one. I live a comfortable life.
Living extremely comfortably. Rural southeast Kansas.
Median household income in my city is $53k. You can buy a family home in a safe neighborhood (3beds or more) for less than $200k. So low six figures allows a family to have everything they need and a lot of their wants.
It depends on how much your bills are and the lifestyle you’re trying to live. My husband and I are empty nesters with minimal bills so we’d be doing very well with $100k. If we were still raising 4 children then it wouldn’t go very far.
An apartment with a roomate in nyc lol
The kind that is pissing off everyone around here who can’t have it. I’m in Denver, these people don’t understand how anyone can live on the mean income without realizing half the people live on less than half of that amount. It’s causing a serious cost of living crisis throughout the metro because these folks don’t understand how few can afford what they find to be “couch change” as far as expenses like entertainment, taxes and fees, or even a mcdouble. People have to get a map out to plan their evening because you eat on the wrong side of the street, your bill is going to be double.
I would love to say the standard I have now since I meet that bracket. However, someone new newly making that in my area would struggle to afford owning a home.
So I would have to say probably a decent one or two bedroom apartment with enough to provide the basics and be able to provide some amount of money for future savings.
I make roughly that, as does my wife, but we also have three kids. In my town the median household income is about $60k, so I feel like we’re doing pretty good. In the particular ward I’m in, the median income is $140k so as a household we’re not doing too bad. Right now we’re paying $1000/month for childcare with one not in school. It was $2000/month when we had two that weren’t in school. When my youngest finally starts school I’ll feel like we’re living high off the hog.
If my wife didn’t work I don’t think we’d be able to save any money, but we wouldn’t be pinching pennies week-to-week. It’s a solid, middle-class income around here.
Keep in mind that you’d only be taking home $6,000 or so a month with that income or less if you’re single and have no dependents and figure up what you can afford. I’ve never seen a nice apartment with all amenities imaginable offered for more than $2000 in this city and the mortgage on our $350k house is only $2200.
I make about that and am very comfortable. I have also lived in extreme poverty as an adult, so I do have some perspective on what broke looks like. Important info: live alone so pay 100% of rent, rent a 1BR apartment so no homeowner expenses, do not own a car, no children, no pets, not a college grad and no student loan debt, in a medium cost of living area. I fucked up most of my younger adult life so am trying to save a lot and am able to do so. I can pay my bills and buy most of what I want within reason. I’m also 45 and remember when $100k felt RICH. Like, flat out, making six figures meant you had it made. It’s not the flinging-benjamins-around I’d imagined, but I am more than okay. I recently got a promotion but was also more than okay below $100k.
I do realize everyone’s life is different. This is just for me where I live and anything can change it.. But as someone who was scraping by without stable housing or knowing where I’d eat at some points in my adult life… like, this is fucking great. My air conditioner is on, I ate breakfast, my internet is solid, the t-shirt I’m wearing cost way too much money, and more is going to magically be direct deposited in two days. I do need that reminder that I can’t personally complain.
I make a little more than that in rural Virginia and I do just fine.
Upper middle class, you can own a home, a newer car, put money in savings, and afford a nice yearly vacation… but then again the average annual income is around $33k and the average household income is around $58k…. you can also buy a nice house for $250k… WV is pretty cheap to live in.
Mine. One bedroom, split with my kid. Our kitchen is our living room. We have our own rooms.
42 comments
I make that in Chicago. It affords me a decent apartment and a couple of vacations a year. I am nowhere near being able to buy a house or even move into a nice apartment.
In my hometown you’d be doing very well, probably top 10% of earners in the area.
edit: To make it even clearer, the median household income in my hometown was about $37k/year in the last census.
Depends on if that person is married, has kids, a mortgage, if married, does the wife work?
That is around the median household income in my city, so it’s comfortable but average. Like, you will have to budget carefully, but won’t be worrying about food, a house, the basics.
Firmly middle class. Decent single-family house, car, eat out once or twice a week, a “big” vacation once a year or so (think across the country or to Mexico or Canada)
A pretty good one. Can definitely afford to live with a family on a single income of that size in rural Maine.
I just moved to Jacksonville Florida, and honestly pretty good. That’s not Ferrari money but that’s definitely raise a small family money.
I’m in Manhattan in New York City so $100k nets a comfortable life with minimal frills if you’re single with a mortgage. A bit tough if you have kids and that’s your household income. You won’t be able to buy.
A single person could afford a good apartment or an OK townhouse.
They probably have a dependable used car, if they have one at all.
They have hobbies they can do locally. Once a year they go somewhere more exotic to do thoee hobbies. Once a year, they go somewhere else that isn’t in pursuit of their hobby, such as a destination wedding, ski trip, or family reunion.
That’s a little less than double the median household income where I live, so you’d be quite comfortable.
Among the highest earners in the area. “Lifestyle” depends entirely on spending habits. Are they at the casino every weekend, do they have 4 kids, do they have extravagant hobbies? I know high earners who spend every dime of every paycheck and have little equity or savings.
A single person making this amount could afford their own apartment and a car. They could probably afford to buy reasonably nice things and eat at restaurants maybe a couple times a week.
But a person supporting a family on this amount would struggle.
Not as much as it did 15 years ago, but still pretty good life. Couple small houses in my area that would be affordable for a single person at that wage, but childcare would destroy that pretty quickly.
I make a bit over 100k in a rural county where the median is 36k. I own a house (with a mortgage), drive a paid off 10 year old car, save a bit every month. I don’t buy anything extravagant/luxurious but have money to spend on hobbies and don’t really worry about prices of necessities.
You’d have yourself a nice double wide and a big ol truck here. 🤭
Upper middle class lifestyle, live in nice area, probably afford private school for kids, travel to Europe at least once a year, lots of PTO for sure
I have a friend whose wife makes $200k a year and they struggle to live. It all depends on one’s lifestyle and how many people you are supporting. He has 5 people in his household and they have two homes and two cars. He also makes about $80k a year, and they still struggle. (They live in the same area as me.)
I on the other hand manage on the poverty level in a high cost of living area and don’t feel in want. I also travel internationally every other year.
Austin:
You could lease in almost any neighborhood you want and probably not need roommates (it may be a very small place if you choose to live downtown). Buying would be tough unless you went with a 2 BR house or went out to the suburbs.
With kids, you can afford a small house zoned for good schools in the city, but you will have to budget pretty well. (I’m speaking from experience on this one.) If you went to the suburbs you could afford a larger house in a soulless neighborhood and have a nice car but you’d spend hours a day on crowded freeways commuting.
I can only speak for the “with kids” case, but that salary affords domestic vacations every year, vacations abroad every few years. You can grocery shop without using a calculator and have savings and investments.
Median household income where I live is around 80K.
A single person earning 100K would be living very comfortably. Upper middle class.
If they were single or only have a kid they do very well but if it’s a family of 4+ they be solidly middle class with just alittle extra per month to save.
I didn’t check it, but I think the average household income is around $83,000. That includes a lot of two income households. As mentioned, where one lives and how many children a family has are key variables. Plus it helps if you come from a well-to-do family who can help you financially and leave you money when they die. Another issue is sustainability. Most people I know with a good paying job hang on to it for dear life. Many people, including me , had a really good paying job but it didn’t last and take a lower paying job.
Solidly middle class
I think that’s realistically a very decent income for a single young person anywhere in the US—enough to rent *at least* a comfortable studio, eat out reasonably regularly, and maybe 1-2 vacations a year.
Depends if they bought a house before 2022 or not.
If not, they can have a nice 1 bedroom apartment or a 2-3 bedroom, 1 bathroom basic house built in the 1950s in one of the less desirable towns. Anything larger or located in one of the nicer towns will be too expensive for them using the 1/3 gross income rule.
If they already bought a house 5+ years ago when prices and interest rates were lower they could have a much nicer house and more disposable income.
Besides housing they could live comfortably but not lavishly. They can afford a decent new-ish car, but probably not a luxury make. They can afford to go out to eat once or twice a week, but not for every meal. They can afford entertainment. They can take one or two vacations each year, and can travel internationally.
You would have above the average income in my city and state. Average income for my city is $65k and state is about $88k.
A small condo or townhous and enough for the essentials with a little savings. DMV NOVA isnt NYC or Bay area in terms of spending power but not that far from it.
One click away from poverty
Northern Virginia (Washington, DC suburbs):
100k/yr is probably manageable for a single person. My family of four would have difficulty surviving on so little, and that’s with our mortgage being nearly paid off.
I make about that as a single woman in the Cleveland area. I do live below my means. I own my own home that will be paid off in the next couple of years. I drive a 3 year car. I am completely debt free besides the mortgage. I have a 6 figure savings account, investments, and retirement savings. I can afford to pay unexpected expenses like an emergency $8k vet bill. I just went to Disney World on a 3 week notice. Life is good.
In most of florida youd survive as long as you dont have a family
In central Illinois it affords me a house. A pretty decent one. I live a comfortable life.
Living extremely comfortably. Rural southeast Kansas.
Median household income in my city is $53k. You can buy a family home in a safe neighborhood (3beds or more) for less than $200k. So low six figures allows a family to have everything they need and a lot of their wants.
It depends on how much your bills are and the lifestyle you’re trying to live. My husband and I are empty nesters with minimal bills so we’d be doing very well with $100k. If we were still raising 4 children then it wouldn’t go very far.
An apartment with a roomate in nyc lol
The kind that is pissing off everyone around here who can’t have it. I’m in Denver, these people don’t understand how anyone can live on the mean income without realizing half the people live on less than half of that amount. It’s causing a serious cost of living crisis throughout the metro because these folks don’t understand how few can afford what they find to be “couch change” as far as expenses like entertainment, taxes and fees, or even a mcdouble. People have to get a map out to plan their evening because you eat on the wrong side of the street, your bill is going to be double.
I would love to say the standard I have now since I meet that bracket. However, someone new newly making that in my area would struggle to afford owning a home.
So I would have to say probably a decent one or two bedroom apartment with enough to provide the basics and be able to provide some amount of money for future savings.
I make roughly that, as does my wife, but we also have three kids. In my town the median household income is about $60k, so I feel like we’re doing pretty good. In the particular ward I’m in, the median income is $140k so as a household we’re not doing too bad. Right now we’re paying $1000/month for childcare with one not in school. It was $2000/month when we had two that weren’t in school. When my youngest finally starts school I’ll feel like we’re living high off the hog.
If my wife didn’t work I don’t think we’d be able to save any money, but we wouldn’t be pinching pennies week-to-week. It’s a solid, middle-class income around here.
Keep in mind that you’d only be taking home $6,000 or so a month with that income or less if you’re single and have no dependents and figure up what you can afford. I’ve never seen a nice apartment with all amenities imaginable offered for more than $2000 in this city and the mortgage on our $350k house is only $2200.
I make about that and am very comfortable. I have also lived in extreme poverty as an adult, so I do have some perspective on what broke looks like. Important info: live alone so pay 100% of rent, rent a 1BR apartment so no homeowner expenses, do not own a car, no children, no pets, not a college grad and no student loan debt, in a medium cost of living area. I fucked up most of my younger adult life so am trying to save a lot and am able to do so. I can pay my bills and buy most of what I want within reason. I’m also 45 and remember when $100k felt RICH. Like, flat out, making six figures meant you had it made. It’s not the flinging-benjamins-around I’d imagined, but I am more than okay. I recently got a promotion but was also more than okay below $100k.
I do realize everyone’s life is different. This is just for me where I live and anything can change it.. But as someone who was scraping by without stable housing or knowing where I’d eat at some points in my adult life… like, this is fucking great. My air conditioner is on, I ate breakfast, my internet is solid, the t-shirt I’m wearing cost way too much money, and more is going to magically be direct deposited in two days. I do need that reminder that I can’t personally complain.
I make a little more than that in rural Virginia and I do just fine.
Upper middle class, you can own a home, a newer car, put money in savings, and afford a nice yearly vacation… but then again the average annual income is around $33k and the average household income is around $58k…. you can also buy a nice house for $250k… WV is pretty cheap to live in.
Mine. One bedroom, split with my kid. Our kitchen is our living room. We have our own rooms.
Two vacations a year. Some savings.