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Poll: Even Six-Figure-Earners Are Feeling Strapped

Most see the threshold as 'survival mode,' not comfort
Posted Nov 16, 2025 7:41 AM CST
Poll: Even Six-Figure-Earners Are Feeling Strapped
   (Getty/DragonImages)

A new Harris Poll finds that plenty of Americans who earn six figures are feeling stressed financially. Highlights from the poll and USA Today:

  • A third of Americans earning at least $100,000 a year consider themselves financially distressed.
  • Two-thirds of these earners say a six-figure salary is no longer a sign of wealth—the money covers their basic needs but not comfort. "People used to feel when you got to six figures or above that it was a sign of financial stability," says Libby Rodney of the polling organization. "And now we just see that as a sign of surviving, and being in survival mode."

  • Three-quarters of these respondents reported using credit cards in the last three months as a matter of necessity: because they ran out of cash.
  • More than half said they would need to double their income to feel secure. Inflation is the main reason: Prices are up 24% since 2020, and people would have to earn $170,000 today to have the buying power of a $100,000 salary in 2005, according to Comerica Bank.
  • The effect is especially pronounced in large, expensive cities, where basic expenses can outstrip a six-figure income—and where most six-figure-earners live.
  • The new Harris Poll included responses from 2,109 Americans, of whom 728 earned at least $100,000.

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