Just looked into something I've been curious about - where does a $100k salary actually put you these days? Turns out it's way more complicated than I thought. If you're an individual earner making that, you're definitely above the median (around $53k), but you're nowhere close to the top 1% which sits at like $450k+. Honestly, it's that weird middle ground where you're doing better than most people but not actually rich.

What's interesting is how many men make over 100k specifically - it's still a minority, but the picture changes completely when you look at household income instead. About 43% of US households hit that $100k mark, which puts you around the 57th percentile for families. The median household income is like $83k, so you're modestly ahead there.

The real kicker though? Geography and family size matter way more than the number itself. $100k in San Francisco feels totally different from $100k in rural areas. And whether you're supporting a family of four or flying solo changes everything. So yeah, six figures used to actually mean something, but now it's just... middle class with some breathing room.