According to the survey, Americans need to earn $233,000 a year to feel safe, and more than $480,000 to be financially free

According to the survey, Americans need to earn $233,000 a year to feel safe, and more than $480,000 to be financially free

Americans need to earn an average of $233,000 a year to feel financially secure, and an average of $483,000 a year to feel rich or achieve financial freedom, according to a new survey by personal finance website Bankrate.

　　According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median U.S. household income is about $71,000 a year. That means earning more than three times that amount to feel financially secure.

In a Bankrate survey of more than 2,500 U.S. adults, 72% of respondents said they currently do not feel financially secure, although 46% said they expected to feel secure someday.

According to the survey, inflation ranked first among the reasons why Americans feel financially insecure, with 63% of respondents choosing high inflation, followed by the economic environment (48%) and insufficient emergency savings (42%) , insufficient retirement savings (41%), rising interest rates (36%), low wages or occupational mobility (33%), high debt (26%), and housing affordability (25%).

Many other factors, such as having children, can make people feel they need higher incomes to feel safe. Parents with children under 18 said they needed $247,000 a year to feel safe, compared with $236,000 for parents with adult children.

The Bankrate survey also found that Black Americans, who face chronic income and wealth disparities, said they need to earn an average of $322,000 a year to feel safe. That’s nearly $100,000 more than the average income white Americans say makes them comfortable.

Women who traditionally earn less than men say they need higher earnings to feel safe, an average of $237,000 a year compared with $229,000 for men.