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The cost of calling yourself affluent in California appears to be creeping ever higher.
Newly-shared analysis reveals just how much cash you need in the Golden State to call yourself upper-middle class — and $156,000 per household is considered to be the base price of admission.
WalletHub crunched the numbers and placed the pricey economic powerhouse at the higher end of the spectrum, nationally — beating out the also-expensive New York.
The Empire State is a relative bargain, it turns out — with just $133k or more needed to be comfortable.
Topping the list is Massachusetts, where you need an income of $163k and up. The state is closely followed by New Jersey, which rang in at $162k, and Maryland, where $160k is the number.
Other states over $150k include Hawaii, New Hampshire, Washington, Colorado, and Utah.
The average income needed to be considered upper middle class nationwide stands at $126k, according to the report.
Looking to stretch your hard-earned dollar further? For best results, you’ll have to move to Mississippi — where all you need to consider yourself comfortable is $92k per year.
Other states squeaking in under the $100k mark were Louisiana, Arkansas, and West Virginia.
The study was posted on the heels of a survey which found one in four Americans felt they needed at least $150k a year to live comfortably. A whopping 77% confessed to feelings of financial insecurity.
“Times have shifted,” said Bankrate Economic Analyst Sarah Foster, at the time.
“Getting rich may have once been what many Americans fantasized about, but now, simply living comfortably feels like the new aspiration, as economic challenges make financial stability a rare luxury,” Foster said.
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Last month, still another survey showed how much Californians would need to earn to consider themselves “rich” — defined as being in the 2.5% of earners in an area.
In the ultra-rich Silicon Valley, according to the numbers, you’d need to earn $878k per year — the highest in the state.
To live well in the beautiful Napa Valley, you’d need an income of $798k. And in the San Francisco area, the required income would be $782k and above.
By contrast, Southern California is a relative bargain — just $535k and up is all that’s required to be rich in Los Angeles, the survey said.
According to the US Census Bureau, the median household income nationwide is currently $83,000.
