Want to feel like you ’re pulling in the big bucks at work ? Do n’t move to San Jose . According to this computer graphic fromHow Much , you ’d have to earn more than $ 110,000 a twelvemonth to be in the top 50 percent of remuneration earners in the San Jose - Sunnyvale - Santa Clara , California sphere .
How Much look at Census data on household income for 2016 across the 50 liberal metropolitan areas in the U.S. , cipher what kind of household income it would take to be in the top 50 percent of wage earner in that realm . In other word : How much do you have to earn to find comparatively well - off compared to your peer ?
Your neighbor ’s salary does n’t really affect you , so you should n’t demand to care about whether you ’re in the top 50 percent of wage earner in your area — technically . But man , of course , are complicated , and social status is all about percept . If you survive next to a Fortune 500 chief operating officer , you ’ll probablyfeel poorin comparison even if you make an objectively gamey salary . One studyin 2010 found that lifespan satisfaction is more about your social station in fellowship , not your absolute income — more money led to greater felicity only if it made people richer than their peers .
Silicon Valley is a problematic place these twenty-four hour period if you require to find productive . While it would take $ 110,040 to be in the top 50 percentage of wage earner in the San Jose area , it would still take $ 96,677 in the San Francisco - Oakland - Hayward area .
The Washington D.C. area comes in third , with a median earnings of $ 95,843 ; the Boston orbit fall in fourth , with a median pay of $ 82,380 ; and the Seattle arena fifth , with a median salary of $ 78,612 . The New York - Newark - Jersey City area do in tenth stead , at a median income of $ 71,897 .
This data point is strictly base on salary , not last worth , so it does n’t tell you what kind of money it would take to feel copious in a neighbourhood full of reliance - fund heirs who own multi - million - dollar family but might not bring home immense paycheck from their sidereal day line of work . Nor does it reflect housing prices or other costs , which differ wildly if you live in San Francisco versus New Orleans and in spades affect how far your pay goes and , thus , how wealthy you feel .
Even if you survive in a place with mellow medial income , though , just remember : Feeling full-bodied wo n’t inevitably make youhappy .
