3 ms·

I think it’s time we start updating 6 figure threshold as 200k not 100k.

by pcurve 5y ago

prepend 5y ago
But “six figure” sounds so nice. I still think it’s a useful dividing line, especially for this kind of article. The physical/virtual job world fits pretty well around $100k. It seems like only about 1/3 of Americans make over $100k [0]. I don’t think $100k means you’re rich like when I first heard the term in the 80s, but it still means that you’re way better off than most Americans. [0] https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/average-american-income/ https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/average-american...
- NordSteve 5y ago
  You really can’t make a blanket statement about whether a particular salary makes you well off, unless you consider cost of living in the area where it’s necessary to live. There are places in the US where someone with a $60,000 a year salary has a higher standard of living then someone making $100,000 a year.
  - ev1 5y ago
    Pretty much this - making $100k in SF is considered low income (102k is "low income" for 1 person, 147k is low income for 4 person household according to Housing and Development) and you likely don't qualify for any rental by yourself, not even a studio - you wouldn't be able to meet minimum makes-more-than-x-times-rent requirements. From my experience, the physical-virtual divide isn't quite at 100k, but it's more job title dependent. Many places are already swapping lower paid support/helpdesk/call centre staff to WFH; however there is much more rather gross surveillance and preventing from fooling around, timed login sessions, etc compared to engineers that can go run off to do laundry in the middle of the day.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- TheCoelacanth 5y ago
  I believe the 1/3 making over $100k is actually looking at households and not individual workers. For individual workers, $100k is more like top 15-20%. For full-time workers, 75th percentile make $81k ($1,557 per week) and 90th percentile make $125k ($2,405 per week)[1]. [1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t05.htm https://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t05.htm
clpm4j 5y ago
$100k still goes a long way in the majority of US cities. If you want to live in SF, NYC, Seattle, Chicago, etc then sure you might need to be making a little more, but if you think $100k isn't a good living then your perspective is a bit warped.
MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
The median salary in some NYC boroughs is $32k just outside of Brooklyn and Queens.

I think it’s time we start updating 6 figure threshold as 200k not 100k.

by pcurve 5y ago

I think it’s time we start updating 6 figure threshold as 200k not 100k.

But “six figure” sounds so nice. I still think it’s a useful dividing line, especially for this kind of article. The physical/virtual job world fits pretty well around $100k. It seems like only about 1/3 of Americans make over $100k [0]. I don’t think $100k means you’re rich like when I first heard the term in the 80s, but it still means that you’re way better off than most Americans. [0] https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/average-american-income/ https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/average-american...

NordSteve 5y ago
You really can’t make a blanket statement about whether a particular salary makes you well off, unless you consider cost of living in the area where it’s necessary to live. There are places in the US where someone with a $60,000 a year salary has a higher standard of living then someone making $100,000 a year.
- ev1 5y ago
  Pretty much this - making $100k in SF is considered low income (102k is "low income" for 1 person, 147k is low income for 4 person household according to Housing and Development) and you likely don't qualify for any rental by yourself, not even a studio - you wouldn't be able to meet minimum makes-more-than-x-times-rent requirements. From my experience, the physical-virtual divide isn't quite at 100k, but it's more job title dependent. Many places are already swapping lower paid support/helpdesk/call centre staff to WFH; however there is much more rather gross surveillance and preventing from fooling around, timed login sessions, etc compared to engineers that can go run off to do laundry in the middle of the day.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
TheCoelacanth 5y ago
I believe the 1/3 making over $100k is actually looking at households and not individual workers. For individual workers, $100k is more like top 15-20%. For full-time workers, 75th percentile make $81k ($1,557 per week) and 90th percentile make $125k ($2,405 per week)[1]. [1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t05.htm https://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t05.htm

clpm4j 5y ago

$100k still goes a long way in the majority of US cities. If you want to live in SF, NYC, Seattle, Chicago, etc then sure you might need to be making a little more, but if you think $100k isn't a good living then your perspective is a bit warped.

MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago

The median salary in some NYC boroughs is $32k just outside of Brooklyn and Queens.