I know you’ve heard it before, so and so has a six-figure salary, or the investors from your favorite podcast talk about having a seven-figure portfolio. Seriously though, how much is 6 figures?

What about how much is 7 figures or 8 figures or 9 figures?

It’s always good to be aware of what others are talking about, so let’s dive in and explore these topics a little more in-depth.

You might even be able to use this guide to plan how to get on that level for yourself!

How much is a figure?

A figure is a digit or a number. A good example is the number $100,000, it has six digits. Someone that earns $100,000 has a 6-figure salary.

How much is 6 figures?

A figure is a digit or number. That means that 6 figures is any amount between 100,000 and 999,999.

Normally, the question “How much is 6 figures?” is in reference to someone’s salary. That means it would refer to someone that is earning at least $100,000 but they are not earning more than $1 million.

How much is a 6-figure salary?

A six-figure salary is between $100,000 and $999,999. If a six-figure salary is mentioned, that is usually what someone is earning in one calendar year.

Did you spot the loophole in the logic this far?

What about $1,000.00? From our definition above that amount has six figures in it.

You are right, it technically has six figures, but that is looking at it from a mathematical perspective.

When people are talking about a 6-figure salary, they are talking only about dollars, not cents.

What does it mean to have 6 figures?

If you hear someone say that they “have 6 figures”, they’re probably not talking about their annual income. Having 6 figures is in reference to an individual’s total net worth and would be talking about the total value of their investments.

What jobs make 6 figures a year?

6 figure jobs are definitely a goal to achieve, but they are not as rare a position as they once were.

The rising cost of living and inflation have in turn increased the average salary. Which makes having a six-figure salary more and more common.

Let’s see what a few jobs that make 6 figures a year actually are.

6 figure jobs that need a college degree (normally a bachelor's degree)

Financial manager

• The job: Work at banks, insurance companies, or other financial institutions to ensure the overall financial health of the company and or its clients
• Median annual salary: $129,890

Anesthesiologist

• The job: Provide anesthesia (general and local) during medical procedures as well as watch a patient’s vitals
• Median annual salary: $208,000

Actuary

• The job: Use statistics to perform risk assessments that minimize costs, normally for insurance companies
• Median annual salary: $108,350

Computer and Information Research Scientist

• The job: Solve problems and create tools that are considered computer applications
• Median annual salary: $110,620

Dentist

• The job: Manage the overall health of your teeth and gums
• Median annual salary: $158,310

Petroleum Engineer

• The job: Extract oil and gas for oil companies
• Median annual salary: $101,366

6 figure jobs that don’t need a college degree

You may be able to end up at a six-figure job without a four-year degree, but the jobs below still require a lot of training. A lot of them require either an associates degree or a different kind of professional certification.

Software Developers

• The job: Design and build software and websites depending on the client’s requirements
• Median annual salary: $113,430

Dental Hygienist

• The job: Teeth cleanings, the examination of teeth and gums, and giving advice on preventative care while supporting the dentist in their work
• Median annual salary: $101,366

Air Traffic Controller

• The job: Direct air traffic, including take-offs and landings
• Median annual salary: $120,830

Commercial Pilot

• The job: Fly commercial planes for airlines carrying either passengers or cargo
• Median annual salary: $102,520

Elevator Installer/Repairer

• The job: Service and install elevators
• Median annual salary: $124,150

Note: The majority of web developers have a formal college education, but there are more and more that have taught themselves or have attended boot camps to get where they are at. It is definitely possible to get a job in this field without a degree. Also small business owners that have their own business should be included in this list.

Related: How to Make Money Building Websites A Step by Step Guide

Is a 6-figure salary good?

Yes.

Is it amazing? Not as amazing as you would think. The Bureau of Labor Statistics posted a report that the median earnings in the United States are $51,688. If your job category falls under “professional workers”, they have a median annual salary of $72,280.

The question “are six figures rich?” does not only depend on the number itself. It actually depends on a lot of different things, which we’ll cover here shortly.

Guess what? 25% of households making at least $150,000 a year are still living paycheck to paycheck.

That seems mind boggling to me. How could a family that makes that much money still be living paycheck to paycheck? It goes to show that your money habits have a huge impact on your total financial situation, even if your good salary would normally lend itself to you saving a lot of money.

You shouldn’t only have a general personal finance plan. You should also be focusing on, regardless of income level, making sure you are properly managing your money.

Ultimately, the best way to do that is to know where every dollar is going. Once you know that you can continue to optimize and make sure that every dollar is working for you.

Amount of debt you have

As reported by debt.org, the more your income is, the higher chance your debt will be at a higher level as well.

As you may well know if you are earning more money it is normally easier to pay off your debts.

However, high-income earnings usually lead to high-income lifestyles, large mortgages, car loans, boat loans, etc. That can make it difficult to pay off debts even at a six-figure salary.

Going into large amounts of debt is not going to end well when it comes to building your wealth. It is hard to put your dollars to work when they are servicing your bad debt instead.

Where you live

The cost of living where you choose to live has a massive impact on how good your six-figure salary is.

For example in San Francisco, if your family makes under $117,400 you would fall under “Low Income”. This is due to the large number of tech companies that have their headquarters in the area, which bring higher than average salaries that in turn increase the cost of housing and other daily expenses.

Though extreme, the example of San Francisco demonstrates that the question of whether a six-figure salary is good includes looking at a lot of different angles.

With the vast amount of remote jobs now available, the same family size living in San Francisco from above can take their monthly income and move to a lower cost of living area and really live it up. For example, there are homes in the Cleveland area that are selling for $100k a year. If you are making a monthly salary that adds up to a six figure income, and are saving a lot of your money you could pay for a house in that price range in cash fairly quickly. That is just the cost of housing, most everything else is cheaper in lower cost of living areas as well. The types of jobs you will find in a lower cost of living area normally don't pay as high as the high cost of living areas, but that is where the beauty of remote work or owning your own business come in. The good news is that there are more and more opportunities like this every day.

Your spending habits

Your spending habits, no matter your income, can really affect your financial situation.

Lifestyle creep should be avoided as much as possible.

A far too large percentage of six-figure income earners are sufferers of the well known “Keeping Up With The Joneses”.

Just like anyone - else six figure earners feel the invisible pressure of having the home, the car, the vacations, school district for their children, etc.

All of those things cost money, a lot of money in fact! The worst part is those costs tend to increase over time.

Just like those that may be making a more average salary instead of a six-figure salary, if you start to pick up bad financial habits, you’ll not be able to use those dollars to work towards your financial goals. In terms of money, every dollar should have a job. The easiest way to do that is to invest your money instead of spending it.

How much of your 6-figure salary you save or invest

Ultimately a 6-figure salary is only good if you are using it to build your wealth and achieve a secure financial future.

The best way to do that is to have a large savings rate and invest those dollars. Then your money is working for you and you aren’t working for your money!

Unfortunately, according to a recent poll done by Gallup, only 55% of Americans own stocks. That means that 45% of Americans, basically half of american households, own no stocks at all!

Now, higher-income top earners are more likely to have the extra money to put into investments, there is still a large percentage of them living paycheck to paycheck (as mentioned above). They are living in New York City, paying off student loans, or are spending their money in a plethora of different ways. The important thing is to use the above average income you are getting and not to squander it. Buying stocks, real estate, businesses, etc are all going to be better than mindlessly spending thousands on Amazon every month.

Yes, a 6 figure salary is better than most. If you are not going to use that income to create a strong financial future by increasing your savings rate, investing in passive income, creating multiple income streams, etc is it of much worth?

How much is 7 figures?

How much is 7 figures: Any number that has 7 digits, which means any amount between 1,000,000 and 9,999,999.

How much is a 7-figure salary?

A 7-figure salary is between one million dollars and 10 million dollars a year.

That salary range means you are most definitely a millionaire.

What does it mean to have 7 figures?

When you “have 7 figures” that normally refers to someone’s net worth instead of their salary.

The nice thing about the ability to have a 7-figure investment portfolio is that it is not limited to people that earn six or seven-figure salaries.

For example, In Dave Ramsey’s famous millionaire study, it was found that 93% of millionaires got their wealth because they worked hard, not because they had big salaries.

Having a 7-figure net worth at the time of retirement is a goal that pretty much anyone can aspire to. The key to that is to spend less than you earn and to make every dollar work for you.

What jobs pay 7 figures a year?

Now that you know how much is 7 figures, it stands to reason that you want to learn how to earn this much.

Seven-figure jobs are usually held by someone who is highly specialized, extremely talented, or really good at timing. Sometimes, it is also a combination of the three.

This means that 7-figure jobs normally fall under one of the following:

• You are making your company or clients millions or billions of dollars a year. Investment managers, salespeople, doctors, etc can fall into this category.
• You started working at a super successful company at an early stage. This means you probably have really good stock options, and a high base salary. The majority of tech millionaires are a good example of this.
• You are working in a field that has only a few specialists. That would make your knowledge and expertise worth literally millions. Doctors, salespeople, investment managers, etc are good examples of this.

Is a 7-figure salary good?

Yes.

It is safe to say that if you are earning more than a million dollars a year, you are doing really well.

I don’t think anyone would be able to argue the fact that a seven-figure salary is good.

If you are ever in the position of having a 7-figure salary, it is still important to have good financial management.

We have all heard the stories of millionaire lottery winners who end up in bankruptcy shortly after winning their millions. Even with a 7-figure net worth things can hit the fan, so having a good financial plan is crucial. Scroll to the end of the article to find more articles that will help you along your financial journey. Learning what to do is only half the battle, you'll need to also apply what you learn and stick to it. That's the hard part.

How much is 8 figures?

8 figures is any amount between 10,000,000 and 99,999,999.

What jobs make 8 figures a year?

The answer to “how much is an eight-figure salary”, is over 10 million dollars and under 100 million dollars.

Those that are making 8 figure salaries are at the top of their game. They are in positions that bring their companies in an insane amount of money, and they are in fields where there is enough money to pay someone that much.

Here are a few jobs making eight-figures a year:

CEOs

• Brian R. Niccol earned a lot of extra guac as the CEO of Chipotle, bringing in a cool $33.5 million
• Daniel H. Schulman of PayPal fame, took home $37.5 million
• Disney’s CEO Bob Iger brought home a whopping $65.6 million
• Sundar Pichai of Alphabet (Google) made $86.1 million in stocks and cash

Actors

• Last year Tyler Perry made $97 million
• Dwayne Johnson brought in $87.6 million
• Ellen Degeneres made $84 million
• The Jonas Brothers together made $68.5 million

Professional athletes

As you might have guessed there are a lot of professional athletes that are taking home an eight-figure salary. This large list includes:

• Neymar at $95.5 million
• Lebron James dunking on $88.2 million
• Stepen Curry shooting for $74.4 million
• Tiger Woods brought in $62.3 million

Is an 8 figure salary good?

Yes. An 8 figure salary is amazing, and should make most people very very happy! You probably won’t want for money, and if you’re earning an 8 figure salary, that is more than $10 million a year!

Still, you need to keep in mind that anyone at any level of income can dig themselves into too much debt. We all know what happened to MC Hammer.

This can only reinforce the fact that no matter how much money you have, it needs to be managed wisely. You won’t be able to build wealth if every dollar that comes in the door goes right back out immediately. Every dollar needs to be put to work.

At this level of income a lot of individuals use financial managers to help them because they are extremely busy with their full-time job. They are focusing on earning that yearly salary, and not so much climbing the corporate ladder. They don't have a single number in mind but have more of a mindset of where they want to be, and still care about their yearly income.

There are a lot of online courses out there that will try and sell you the get rich over night strategy but really the way to get to this level is to put in the hard work day in and day out. That's the way you are going to get good money and reach a high income. For the majority of people having their own businesses is what will bring them to this 8 figure range. The majority of W2 workers are not going to be pulling down this kind of money.

How much is 9 figures?

9 figures is any number between 100,000,000 and 999,999,999. That is nine digits.

$999,999,999 is only one dollar short of a billion dollars. Yes billion with a “B”. Wow!

What does it mean to have a 9 figure salary?

A 9-figure salary means that you earn between $100 million and $999,999,999 each year.

That is safe to say that is most likely more than most people will ever make in their lifetime.

To put things in perspective, for someone that makes the median salary in the US, which is $51,688 if you don’t remember from earlier. That person is going to have to work for:

$100,000,000 / $51,688 = 1,934

1,934 years to make $100 million dollars.

Let’s take that one step further. Someone who makes the median salary in the US of $51,688 would have to work for:

$999,999,999 / $51,688 = 19,346

19,346 years to make $999,999,999.

What jobs pay 9 figures a year?

• Superstar athletes like Lionel Messi ($127 million) and Cristiano Ronaldo ($109 million)
• Oprah most likely was making over $300 million at the height of her career
• David M. Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery earned an earth shattering $129.5 million

Note: We haven't included people on this list like the richest people Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, or Kylie Jenner.

Final Thoughts

To find out how much 7 figures, 8 figures or even 9 figures is when it is applied to a salary is very interesting. However, it is most likely out of reach for most of us, and probably more than we will ever need.

Now that you know how much is 6 figures, here’s an interesting opinion: a 6-figure salary is nice, but it might not lead to more happiness.

It’s been found that earning more than $75,000 a year doesn’t actually bring you any more happiness.

Overall the most important thing to do is to have effective money management, at any level of income.

If you spend less than you earn and invest the rest, you’ll be well on your way to financial freedom and have a 7 figure net worth by the time you retire.

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