The truth about how much you need to earn to be rich in 2025

The salary you now need to earn to be considered rich in 2025 has been revealed. So, where does that leave the rest of us?

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When I was at school, I thought classmates who had a swimming pool at home must have had rich parents.

It seemed like such a luxury. They must have been rich, what with their office and public service jobs.

And if they went on overseas holidays, they must have been loaded.

While they may not have been “rich” – I went to a public school in Adelaide’s solid working-to-middle class northeastern suburbs – they enjoyed a lot more luxury than many in the same position would today.

Kids probably go to school now and deem each other rich on the basis of whether or not their parents rent or own their homes.

The average salary is far less than what is considered 'rich'. Picture: iStock

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According to news.com.au’s Great Aussie Debate, in which thousands of Australians had their say, you need to be earning more than $250,000 a year to be considered rich.

Just 2.6 per cent of people said an income of $80,000-$100,000 would qualify one as rich.

It wasn’t all that long ago that 100 large was considered to which one could aspire – now it’s just enough to pay the bills.

Recent Canstar research found that a family of four in Sydney has to spend $105,000 a year, after tax, to cover basic living expenses based on average consumption and mortgage repayments on the median house price.

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The average national full-time wage is $90,416 before tax – and don’t forget that averages are skewed due to much higher numbers on the upper end.

Assuming two parents earned the average wage, they’d be left with $141,390 after tax, giving them $36,390 to play with once they’ve paid for the basics.

Many Aussies believe a salary of over $250,000 a year is what makes you 'rich'. Picture: iStock

Once you pay for sport and the rest it doesn’t leave much in savings.

That’s the reality of how many people now live, if they’re lucky enough to own their own homes.

Someone on an average wage feels nowhere near wealthy and would need to earn significantly more to feel like they didn’t have to worry about money.

And, relatively, they don’t aspire for that much more.

People don’t necessarily want to be rich but they do want to feel like they don’t have to worry as much.

Finder research released in March found that Australians on the average wage believed $152,775 was a good salary, but people thought they needed to earn $164,577 to be “comfortable”.

A $100k salary used to be a lot, but now many say it barely covers cost of living. Picture: iStock

It’s a far cry from how things used to be.

As I previously wrote, I made comparisons to other families as a child – as I think we all did – about wealth.

While I might have thought other people were rich because they had swimming pools I never realised just how rich we were.

Perhaps not monetarily. But certainly in terms of family.

I was never deprived as a child and my parents weren’t poor by any stretch of the imagination, though I was aware of occasional financial pressures.

But my younger brother and I, barely two decades ago, were raised on one-and-a-quarter incomes.

Many Australians are stressed about finances. Picture: iStock

My father was, and still is, a council gardener and my mother worked in retail on Saturdays and Thursday nights.

Mum stayed at home during the week and looked after us until we were old enough to fend for ourselves.

That was a decision my parents made – to forego the extra income of mum being at work to raise a family the way they thought was best.

And that’s what I mean when I say we were rich. They had that choice available to them despite working relatively low-paying jobs.

How many families today have a stay-at-home parent without the other parent earning an exceptionally good salary?

Within a generation we have obliterated the ability for families to decide how they operate. There’s little choice about whether both parents go to work.

So wages may increase but we’re no richer – in fact, we’re going backwards.

Wealth is not just measured in money. But you now have to be significantly financially wealthier than you did 20 years ago to enjoy any kind of real-life wealth.

Originally published as The truth about how much you need to earn to be rich in 2025