Upper class is always hard to define, and it’s something of a moving target. Between lifestyle choices, regional costs and inflation, “upper class” most definitely means different things to different people.
But if your image of “upper class” means flying private jets and cruising around the world in a suite, you’re probably going to have to save a lot more than you imagine, based on today’s financial realities.
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This is especially true if you’re retired, as you no longer have a steady source of income from a job. Thus, for retirees, upper class is better defined by net worth than income. With that in mind, here’s a look at just how much money you might need to have to be considered upper class as a retiree.
According to Bo Hanson, a financial planner and co-host of the “Money Guy Show,” there are five broad categories of net worth in America, using data from the U.S. Federal Reserve:
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Bottom 25% of Americans: Less than $29,300 net worth
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Lower middle class (25th to 50th percentile): $29,300 to $209,000 net worth
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Upper middle class (50th to 75th percentile): $209,000 to $714,000 net worth
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Upper class (75th to 90th percentile): $714,000 to $2.1 million net worth
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Wealthy (90th percentile and above): Over $2.1 million net worth
These class divisions are not set in stone, nor are they “official” in any capacity. However, they are accurate, according to U.S. Federal Reserve data, in terms of real-world net worths across America.
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When asked, Americans feel like they need an even higher net worth to be upper class than what the Federal Reserve data said.
According to Charles Schwab’s 2025 Wealth Survey, Americans think they need an average net worth of $2.3 million to be wealthy, which is above the top range of the “wealthy” category as analyzed by Hanson using the Federal Reserve data. Although that figure is down from $2.5 million in 2024, the overall trend over the past few years has been for that number to rise, as it started at just $1.9 million in 2021. Of note, however, is that survey respondents also felt that it took just $839,000 in net worth to be “financially comfortable.”
The feeling that these wealth categories skew low is backed up by Jeremy Finger, a financial planner and founder of Riverbend Wealth Management. As Finger points out, the $714,000 figure that supposedly puts Americans at the bottom of the “upper class” category would fall far short of funding an above-average lifestyle in many American cities, per MarketWatch. This is particularly true if most of that net worth is tied up in their home, as that net worth is illiquid. Finger feels that the true lower level for being wealthy in today’s society is $4 million, which is just about the bottom threshold for the upper 5% of American households.