<p>My daughter at a New Jersey elite says she doesn’t know anyone who appears to be in her parents’ income bracket. She is dealing, but here in the Midwest most families don’t have $100,000 plus incomes. Of course I know that a New Jersey school teacher and fireman together make much more than that.
I don’t know what I am asking here. I guess that I am just taken aback by the wealth that has been accumulated in certain parts of the country and would like other peoples’ reactions.</p>
<p>Well, it certainly is more expensive to live in NJ/NY area than the midwest so it may not translate functionally to “wealth” but that is surprising. OTOH, it includes the cash value of people’s life insurance, retirement plans, etc - I wonder if they controlled for age ranges. I have to read the whole article (smile). Maybe it is the Soprano “family” types as they are more likely to have liquid assets (ok, just kidding).</p>
<p>My parents do not have liquid assets over one million. Both work full time as civil servants/education and I can say that they earn an decent amount above 100,000 combined. But, realize that homes are (on average) $500,000 out here and that majority of the income is going towards the high cost of living here!</p>
<p>I live in NJ and thought that was a pretty amazing figure. Still, 93% of us don’t have a liquid million laying around. The average income in my zip code is $35,000. Not everyone in NJ is living in $500,000 houses.</p>
<p>The publication of "THEY have it and YOU don’t "stories seems to increase before elections. No, I don’t have data to back up my observation, just something I noticed. Tangential topic question: What are “wealthy” and “rich”?</p>
<p>Family incomes of $100k+ are not that hard to achieve in many areas.<br>
Take the average salary of a Boston teacher (ranging from roughly $36 to $76k) add to that the average salary of a librarian (approximately $37k <em>starting</em> salary) and you are almost at the $100k. Of course, the cost of living in the Boston area is much higher than in the Midwest. In my neighborhood, a condo of less than 500 square feet is being marketed for $265k.</p>
<p>marite - I am in the Boston area as well. Many families here buy large life insurance policies as well because if a parent dies, covering the cost of that income and/or mortgage is significantly higer than for the average in the midwest. If you look at how this $million was tallied - by assessing the cash value of life insurance policies and retirement plans in addition to cash on hand - it may be more reflective of the cost of living differences than the article suggests. Still, the NYC investment banker/financial services salaries are so off the chart that I do believe they play into this figure.</p>
<p>My grandparents who were from the Midwest accumulated over $1million in savings and assets ( inc. their home- for which they had paid cash), when they died almost 15 years ago. They did this with careful penny pinching and hard work- not wild investing. My grandmother was a grocery and dept store clerk and my grandfather had an 8th grade education and worked as a pipe fitter.</p>
<p>Unfortunately= my mother ( their daughter) didnt pick up their habits and she has all but gone through the bulk of the money
( this wasn’t counting life ins. because no one knew where their safe deposit box or any other accounts were)</p>
<p>Good question. The answer depends on your own personal situation! Several years back, my D laughed when my good friend’s son was talking about the boarding school he would be attending in the fall. The young man jokingly told D that he planned to “ride on the coattails of the rich kids there.” D laughed because, to US, this young man was rich! It’s all in where you are. Those of us who live in modest homes think those who live in fancy homes are rich. But the people in the fancy homes always seem to know people who live in even fancier homes … and so it goes.</p>
<p>I assume, though, that the administrator can depend on his/her income. Garbageman cannot … overtime is never guaranteed, and the wise employee does not live as if it is.</p>
<p>“I assume, though, that the administrator can depend on his/her income. Garbageman cannot … overtime is never guaranteed, and the wise employee does not live as if it is.”</p>
<p>Actually, it’s MY overtime, not the garbageman’s. And as I said, “just over or just under” which means that it’s not a huge amount of money. Garbagemen here in NYC can depend on a lot. Like the extra money above salary for picking up garbage!</p>
<p>Wow. I live in the birthplace of the auto industry, and our area gets slammed for having ridiculous salaries for folks who work on the line. But their salaries don’t come close to the garbagemen in your area, even with overtime! And now new hires will only make 1/2 what lineworkers made in the past, with lesser benefits.</p>
<p>The salaries and benefits are astounding. I didn’t comprehend this until my husand hit “top pay.” the base salary is around 54,000, but they also get extra things. It’s about $800 a month for picking up garbage, another (I think) $265 to dump it, and so on. Plus the benefits package is remarkable. Free medical and prescription for life, life insurance, an annuity on top of pension (20 years and out on retirement). On another thread someone pointed out that it’s the pensions that are bankrupting some municipalities. I believe that. At top pay, a garbageman (same is true for other uniformed services except junior police), who has a route that picks up garbage, will easily make $100k. Someone who is aggressive with overtime or if there is snow can do better than that.</p>