How much money should a 22 year old be making?
The median salary of 20- to 24-year-olds is $720 per week, which translates to $38,012 per year. Many Americans start out their careers in their 20s and don't earn as much as they will once they reach their 30s.
| Age range | Median weekly earnings | Median annual earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 16-19 | $603 | $31,356 |
| 20-24 | $712 | $37,024 |
| 25-34 | $1,042 | $54,184 |
| 35-44 | $1,229 | $63,908 |
| Age | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| 22 | $27,000.00 |
| 23 | $32,000.00 |
| 24 | $37,000.00 |
| 25 | $41,000.00 |
However, a good rule of thumb for a 21-year-old is to have $6,000 in a savings account for emergencies and long-term financial goals. And that requires you to learn how to start budgeting and saving money. If you're nowhere near that amount, don't panic.
California's notoriously high cost of living is on display here, with just over $143,000 a year being needed to secure happiness. California's unemployment rate of 4.7% trails only Nevada in the study.
By age 25, you should aim to have an emergency fund of 3-6 months of living expenses, and start regularly contributing to retirement savings to take advantage of compound interest over time, even if it's just small amounts.
Americans under 25 who make over $100k per year are in the top 1% of earners in their age group. From age 18-24, only 1% of earners (7% altogether) earn $100k per year or more. This makes these age groups by far the lowest earners in the US. Americans make the most income gains between 25 and 35.
A livable wage is the hourly rate of pay that enables an individual or family to meet their basic needs, such as housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and other essential expenses.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. median hourly wage for all workers is $22.26 with an average of 34.7 hours per week. That means earning $22 an hour puts your wages just slightly above the average.
Earning $25 per hour puts you well above the poverty line, especially if you're single. With careful budgeting and financial planning, $25 is still a viable hourly wage. Even though it's not a particularly high hourly rate, it's still well above the minimum wage rate in most areas.
How much cash should I have at 20?
Financial experts typically recommend saving up three to six months' worth of necessary expenses in order to have a healthy, fully-funded emergency account. So, there's no specific number that a person in their twenties needs to have in their emergency fund — it should be based on their necessary monthly expenses.
By age 25, you should have saved about $20,000. Looking at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the fourth quarter of 2023, the median salaries for full-time workers were as follows: $712 per week, or $37,024 each year for workers ages 20 to 24.
Saving $1,000 per month can be a good sign, as it means you're setting aside money for emergencies and long-term goals. However, if you're ignoring high-interest debt to meet your savings goals, you might want to switch gears and focus on paying off debt first.
At $20 an hour, a full-time worker earns a little more than $40,000 a year — it's not a lavish lifestyle, but enough to support a family, Wartzman says. And higher wages are not unheard of: In Denmark, McDonald's workers earn $20 an hour, which is working well for management and the corporation.
How much does the average American make a year? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 was $59,384. This is up 5.4% from the same time period in 2022 when the average American was making $56,316 per year.
While $15,000 per month may not seem like a lot of money to some, it is actually more than enough to live a comfortable and fulfilling life, as long as you have a solid financial plan in place. The key is to be mindful of your spending and to make intentional choices about where you allocate your resources.
By age 21, assuming you have worked full time earning the median salary for the equivalent of a year, you should have saved a little more than $7,000. Read on to learn why you shouldn't be discouraged if your savings are nowhere close to that number.
That said, the typical age of financial independence should be between 20-23 years old, according to a Bankrate survey. Break the numbers down by cost category, and differences of opinion can be pretty wide.
Peak earning years are generally thought to be late 40s to late 50s*. The latest figures show women's peak between ages 35 and 54, men between 45 and 64. After that, most people's incomes typically level off. Promotions favor younger people with longer futures*.
Middle-class income currently ranges from a little under $40,000 to a little over $119,000. The definition of middle class extends beyond income to factors like education, location and marital status.
How many Americans live paycheck to paycheck?
A majority, 65%, say they live paycheck to paycheck, according to CNBC and SurveyMonkey's recent Your Money International Financial Security Survey, which polled 498 U.S. adults. That's a slight increase from last year's results, which found that 58% of Americans considered themselves to be living paycheck to paycheck.
Looking at the gap differently, 16% of male workers earn at least six figures, compared with 7% of female workers. And 4% of men land above the $200,000 income threshold, compared with 1% of women.
If we could, we'd realize that $15 an hour amounts to only $31,200 a year, assuming full-time work—about half of the U.S. median income and a painfully small amount for living and raising children in most American cities.” It can be painfully small outside of cities, too.
| RANK | STATE | INCOME REQUIRED |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | Alaska | $71,570 |
| 47 | New York | $73,226 |
| 48 | California | $80,013 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | $87,909 |
California. California's living wage is $19.41, or $40,371 a year for an individual. A family of four requires $27.42, or $101,378 a year.
