You're in Missouri so that might feel like it's a lot of money because you're living in a place with a significantly lower cost of living (10% lower than the re

You're in Missouri so that might feel like it's a lot of money because you're living in a place with a significantly lower cost of living (10% lower than the rest of the country) but also a lower median income ($45,321 last year). So for you that median income would be a 14% increase over what you expect - in an area where your buying power is also higher than the rest of the country on average... So I understand the dissonance.