(José Niño, Headline USA) The benchmark for wealth in America has undergone a dramatic transformation. According to a report by Fortune, Americans now place the threshold for being considered wealthy at an average of $2.3 million—a 21 percent surge since 2021 that underscores how inflation and escalating expenses have fundamentally reshaped financial aspirations.
Though generational perspectives on wealth differ, there’s broad consensus that true prosperity encompasses far more than dollars alone, extending to security, wellness, and life quality.
Back then, a seven-figure net worth seemed like the ultimate financial destination. But with inflation and tariffs driving up prices across the board, that once-impressive sum has lost much of its luster. The reality check comes from a Charles Schwab report showing that Americans now peg the wealth threshold at an average of $2.3 million.
The financial services giant polled 2,200 adults ranging from 21 to 75 years old between April 24 and May 23, capturing insights across multiple generations. Survey participants indicated that achieving “financial comfort” requires approximately $839,000.
Though the $2.3 million figure represents a modest decline from last year’s Modern Wealth Survey result of $2.5 million, it still towers 21% above the $1.9 million benchmark recorded in 2021.
Survey participants also expressed that the wealth threshold appears to be climbing, with 63 percent indicating it takes more money to achieve wealthy status today than a year ago, pointing to inflation, economic deterioration, and increased taxation as primary culprits.
Brad Clark, founder and CEO of financial advisory firm Solomon Financial, noted these views align closely with feedback from his clientele. While the United States boasts numerous millionaires when all assets are tallied, he explained to Fortune, this calculation typically incorporates home equity, leaving investable assets below the million-dollar mark for most.
“With so many middle-class Americans being considered millionaires, it stands to reason that the average individual would consider $2.3 million to be wealthy, as it may seem out of reach,” Clark said.
Yet financial professionals emphasize that wealth doesn’t automatically translate to lavish living across all dimensions.
The $2.3 million benchmark is “not luxury for everyone, but security. It’s wanting to have a house, retire well, have family, and have one’s time,” William “Bill” London, a lawyer and partner at Kimura London & White who routinely handles high-net-worth families and individuals in divorces and estate cases, told Fortune. “Affluence is not about excess, but about reducing anxiety.”
The Charles Schwab data reveals generational divides in wealth perception, with Gen Z establishing lower benchmarks for both wealth and financial stability—$1.7 million and $329,000, respectively. Millennials and Gen Xers place the wealth line at $2.1 million, while baby boomers set it at $2.8 million.
These disparities may stem from how different age cohorts view prosperity. Older generations like baby boomers tend to view wealth through the lens of stability, London explained, emphasizing property ownership, retirement income, and inheritable assets. Younger cohorts, conversely, prioritize experiences, debt elimination, and lifestyle autonomy.
“Millennials and Gen Z are justifiably pessimistic about the prospects of homeownership, which historically was the most common way for Americans to build wealth,” Markus Schneider, associate professor and chair of the economics department at University of Denver, told Fortune. “There are lots of reasons why millennials and Gen Z may feel less secure about the world than the boomers did when they were the same age, and that may also impact how they feel about their wealth.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
