Here's the salary each generation feels they need in 2025, according to survey

What salary that Americans feel they need to live comfortably depends on generation, according to a new survey. 

The research, published in early April by GoBankingRates.com, asked more than 1,000 American adults what salary is needed to live comfortably in 2025, what is needed to be upper middle class in 2025, and what Americans think is needed to afford a house in the U.S. in 2025. 

Salary needed in 2025, according to different generations

What we know:

Despite the increasing cost of living, nearly half of Americans – 48% – said they believe it’s possible to live comfortably with a salary of $100,000 or less in 2025, according to the survey. 

The largest proportion of Americans (29%) said they believe it’s possible to live comfortably earning between $75,000 and $100,000 in 2025, the survey found. 

Meanwhile, 19% in the survey said they believe it’s possible to live comfortably on $50,000 to $75,000, and just 8% indicated they feel it’s possible to live comfortably if you earn less than $50,000.

Dig deeper:

When looking at the answers by generation, the survey found: 

• Roughly 27% of Gen Z participants (ages 18 to 24) said they believe you need to earn between $75,000 and $100,000 to live comfortably, and 22% said between $50,000 and $75,000.
• Among younger millennials aged 25 to 34, 29% said they believe you need to earn between $75,000 and $100,000, but an equal proportion (20%) said you need to earn between $50,000 and $75,000 and between $100,000 and $150,000. Meanwhile, 31% of older millennials (ages 35 to 44) said a salary range of $75,000 to $100,000 is the sweet spot for a comfortable life in 2025.
• Gen X, or those aged 45 to 54, were found to be the most likely to believe you need to earn between $100,000 and $150,000 to live comfortably, with 24% selecting this range, according to the survey. But the largest proportion (27%) said they believe that $75,000 to $100,000 is enough to live comfortably.
• Some 28% of younger boomers aged 55 to 64 in the survey said they believe $75,000 to $100,000 is required to live comfortably in 2025, while 29% of older boomers – aged 65 and up – said they feel the same. In addition, older boomers were found to be the most likely to believe that you can live comfortably earning between $50,000 and $75,000, with 24% stating that this salary range would suffice, according to the survey.

What they're saying:

"Gen X might assume that they need more because this is the generation that has literally lived through four major pullbacks during their working careers, including the dot-com crash in the early 2000s when the S&P had three back-to-back years of negative returns, and the Great Financial Crisis, which was brought about by the lax underwriting of adjustable-rate mortgages," Roland Chow, partner at Optura Advisors, said in a statement. 

"If you include the Trump tariff proposals and the uncertainty the markets have experienced from the tariff proposals this year, then it would be five major pullbacks," Chow continued. 

"There’s no other generation that has lived through literally four to five significant pullbacks and watched their 401(k) [plans] swing back and forth in a whiplash fashion," he added.

So what’s needed to live comfortably in 2025?

By the numbers:

While different generations may have different expectations and perspectives on what’s needed to "live comfortably," GoBankingRates noted how most generations are actually underestimating what it takes. 

GoBankingRates said the average monthly spend for American households is roughly $8,500, although the most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the figure closer to $6,440.

If one takes GoBankingRates’ $8,500 figure, most of the salary expectations by generation are indeed an underestimation. 

"On a per annum basis, that would total about $102,000 — this does include savings at around 10% of the total spend," Chow said. "To be comfortable, I would say that it would take at least a total gross annual income of $190,000."