- In a survey, British people were asked how much they would have to earn to feel rich
- The average amount is almost three times the average wage
- Scots had the highest standards, while those in Yorkshire set their sights lower
You need to earn almost £100,000 a year to be considered rich, a study claims… but to be ‘comfortable’ you need a little more than the average wage in Britain.
Earning £96,000 is the magic amount that would make the average person feel rich, according to a survey conducted by recruiter Indeed.
But 8.6 percent upped the ante, saying they would have to earn £201,000 or more to be considered wealthy – while 6.7 percent said they would feel prosperous on a salary of less than £20,000.
Combined households need an income of more than £115,500 a year to be classified as affluent, according to an average calculated from the responses.
The data also showed that the income level that categorizes someone as “rich” increases as their own income increases.
For example, those in households already earning more than £100,000 believed that on average a household needed £165,500 to be considered wealthy.
Meanwhile, 22 percent of those earning less than £15,000 said a salary of £20,000 makes you rich.
What is the average UK wage?
In reality, an individual salary of £100,000 would put someone well into the top five percent of earners in Britain.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the average salary for a full-time worker in 2023 was £34,963, while the minimum wage is £23,795 for a 40-hour week.
Surprisingly, the measure of wealth was considered highest in Scotland, where £106,520 was the average salary considered to make someone rich, while in London this figure was £103,420 and in Northern Ireland £100,930.
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By comparison, those in Yorkshire and the Humber said you only need to earn £86,380 to be considered rich, while people in the South West said an income of more than £87,250 would make you rich.
However, to ensure a ‘comfortable’ standard of living, respondents say you only need £38,130 a year, with almost 60 percent of respondents saying you need less than £40,000.
For a combined household this figure rises to £50,280 per year, significantly less than twice the average income in Britain, which amounts to around £70,000.
More than half of those surveyed said £50,000 or less was needed for a comfortable life, rising to three-quarters of respondents on £80,000 and less.
Despite continued increases in the cost of living, one in five people have not received a pay rise since 2021, while those who did receive a pay rise saw an average increase of just three percent.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, said: ‘After more than two years of grappling with the cost of living crisis, it’s no surprise that wages are top of mind for voters.
“There is a clear call from the British people for the elected government to further relieve financial pressure, and we expect this will continue to be visible to the public long after the winning party has been decided.
‘While many people have suffered a wage freeze, the Indeed wage tracker shows that published wage growth for new hires rose to the highest level in four months in May, at 6.5 percent year-on-year. This shows that in certain sectors there are opportunities for employees to receive higher wages.’
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