What Is Considered a “Good Income”?

A good income is an income that doesn’t go straight out as soon as it comes in.

I use to say it if I could make $60k a year I’d be set. I now make $90k and I feel broke. That being said, it’s all about how you live. When I made 40k I was much more conservative than I am now. It’s all discipline

You say the average income for a “household “ . If she was married and her husband made $36k a year too then she would be right at the $72k “annual household income”

You can survive off of 36k per year. Çan not survive off of minimum wage flipping burgers at Mc Donald's.

To afford a good life you need to make 150k plus. This will get you in most places a nice house, cars paid, investment for retirement, and enough money to be comfortable with kids/vacations. If you arent clearing 200k a year combined, you likely will always be struggling throughout life.

I was owing a loan of $200,000 to my bank, no longer in debt after I invested $60,000 and got my payout several times for the past 2 months.

The art isn't in making money, it's saving it

Didn’t the caller a say after taxes? 36k take home…. Meaning is more like 50k INCOME!

I started selling my AMD shares that I bought for $12 back in 2018 and i am sitting on roughly about $300k. Am i better off putting the money somewhere else or sit out and wait for a correction?

“The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.”

Household is the 78k figure. Individual is around 40k so they are not far off

He said the average household meaning 2 people making up the house. So $70k divided by 2 is $35k. I think that person is making good income.

There is plenty of information about income relative to age on the web. That might be more useful than the average (median not mean) income for all ages.

She’s also in Ohio. Cheaper cost of living

I am graduating college in May and have a job lined up that’s work from home and will be making 100k a year pre tax. Do I live at home and pay off all my debt over the next couple years? I’m 100k in debt from it, so I was thinking I have the opportunity to live at home for the next few years so I won’t have to pay rent. I then plan on saving to get property before I move out. I’m not really sure if I should focus on solely paying off all my debt before I try to invest any of that money elsewhere. I’d love some of you to give me some advice because I know for a 23 year old 100k is a lot of money to be making right out of the gate.

First thing that comes to mind is he ain’t qualifying for a house on $36k

Doesn't anybody get bothered, that they just compared a single income to a household income (which is mostly 2 people bringing in the income, so 2x single income)?

She makes 36K a year after taxes so she makes around 50k a year which is above average for an individual. The hosts are confused.

I'm just wondering how she's bringing home $36k at $20 an hr. I make 1.5x that and only brought home $42k last year

Shouldn't we use average household income in the town you live? The average for the town I live in is about $50,000 for example.

The average in the United States is not 76k, it’s 59k. Where are you drawing your data points from?

Here’s the deal. Household income is not individual income and also average is not median. Use ur Brian

God said trust in him and he will provide your needs. He never said your wants. My grandma and grandpa told me in 1970 no where in the Bible does it say we retire we are to live happily with in our means I was 6 then I’m 60 now and I still remember and live that way

The entire economic landscape changed over the last few years. Up until the mid 2000s, a 100k salary meant you could afford a nice lifestyle. Today, you would need around 250k to afford the same lifestyle. Last year I made around 300k and it doesn’t feel that much different than when I made 70-80k 10 years ago.

What's truly relative is the cost of living where you are. I make 40k yr with the state plus retirement and benefits etc. I'd be poor in California yet I'm middle class in my small town in Eastern NC

Also average income of 78k is based off of pretax so if all information is correct this person pretax makes $49,400 and it’s better to make that and have self control and good habits than say making 100k and awful money habits, also quite young and for age I’d say income is solid personally, although it also depends on your states cost of living

This person makes $47,000 a year. $20 an hour at 46 hours a week is 47,000 she said 36000 after taxes.

She could make that much at McDonald's

Ministry school 😂.

Are they comparing her individual income to the household average? Meaning she's making about half of what two people make on average? As a single individual she's actually making about average. I'm confused.

My mind went immediately towards "above the median for where you live = good". Dave's answer is definitely the national median household income and not national individual median income. Plus, he didn't take into account that it's $36k/yr AFTER TAXES. Details matter. Location matters. National average isn't super helpful or even relevant to cost of living or how far a dollar will go in your area. You really should be looking at the average for your state and not the national average. A quick Google search shows Ohio median income for 2020 for individual and household as $31,078/yr and $58,116/yr respectively. That puts her closer to SLIGHTLY above average in 2024 numbers since these numbers are from 2020 and inflation has been nuts the last few years. Either way, I'd say $36k/yr after tax is a "good income" in 2024 as a SINGLE person living in OHIO.

It’s about lifestyle choices, if you spend frivolously then you’re going to require a larger income but if you live within your means then in my opinion that is a smarter way to go!

People get so offended by facts, 36,000 is not a good income. I live in California 80,000 is not a good income here.

Damn, I make $104k/year base and my goal each month is to save around $1-1.2k/month for a down payment for a home. Don’t worry I invest in my Roth and 401k on top of that, but still impressive that she can do that making what she makes.

Those who have a genuine vocation to go preach the Gospel message are supposed to do it freely just as Jesus said. Tell her the truth. She does not have a real vocation as a preacher. Witness, yes. Preach, no.

What kind of ministry?

Ramsey smoking the devils lettuce a little to much or dimentia starting to set in. She said she clears 36k after taxes. She makes just under 50k a year. Ramsey said household income is 78 which is two earners in the home. Her salary is over 1.5 of half the salary of tue average household income. She is not below average she is 11k above speculating if she had a partner that made the same. Keep rippin that ganja there Mr Ramsey.

Any income is good. You take that job and experience and go apply for a better job. And so forth.

Average income is 40k is he talking house hold like 2 people for the 78k he's talking about ?

Dang, I only make about 25k a year, I would love to make 36k! And I'm 45 haha

So just work 4 jobs to cash flow college and live with your parents and have mommy and daddy do literally everything for you so you can save $1000 per month making 35k a year...

Got it.

The people asking questions on this show are so unrealistic.

By me its very expensive. 50k is okay. Its not good, but its not bad. Youll barely scrape by on that. You will have to budget carefully. 60k is when i say youre good. A studio by me is at least 2,000 thats assuming you get a good deal. So around 25k will go straight to living. 10k for food, phone, and clothes assuming you budget correctly. 5k for a car(gas, maintenance, insurance, etc).

Blows my mind that Ramsay knows he's talking about only his income and then compares him the Average household. Averages mean nothing and are EXTREMELY skewed and household means everyone in the house. He should have compared him to the MEDIAN which is closer to low-mid 40s. Your average American isn't making more than 45-50k annually. Most have debt and roughly 50% live paycheck to paycheck. This was a very negative and skewed answer for the wrong reasons.

When I graduated from university in 2004, I landed my first job making $35,000 a year. Although the salary was considered low at the time, because I was in an outstanding scholar program, I knew my salary would rise rather quickly. Now my annual salary is over $180,000.

My question is are these numbers (78k) gross or net

When talking about income, are yall talking about after tax income or pre-tax income? Bc if you make 70-80k, after taxes, 401k, and benefits, its more like around 35-45k

Good income is any income when you can save 25% for savings and investments.

My opinion, make as much money per hours as you can. Hopefully you are debt free , working a job that pays you over $30.00 an hour,
even if you need two jobs. The older you become, the more money you will need to save $$$$$.
These days , it's going to take a lot of money .
I know a person who makes at least $40.00 - $60.00 an hour , debt free , been investing for 16 years, and always planning ahead.
401K , Traditional IRA , and Savings . Still young but concern about retirement ( if any ).

They missed that she said 36k AFTER taxes. Which means she makes probably closer to 60k.

I make about $115,000 a year and save as much as her a month (between $1,500.00 and $2,000.00 a month). I’m 38 years old and she is only 23. You’re killing it girl! Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t care what other people are making and doing because comparison is a double edge sword.