More families making over $150,000 are living paycheck to paycheck

When considering who is living paycheck to paycheck, households with an income of six-figures or more likely aren’t the first to come to mind. But, as it turns out, about a fifth of US households that earn more than $150,000 a year are in that situation.

When considering who is living paycheck to paycheck, households with an income of six-figures or more likely aren’t the first to come to mind. But, as it turns out, about a fifth of US households that earn more than $150,000 a year are in that situation. That’s according to a new Bank of America analysis of anonymized US customers’ banking accounts and spending data. The authors of the analysis define people who live paycheck to paycheck as those who dedicate more than 95% of their household income to necessities, which include gasoline, food, utilities, internet, public transportation, child care and housing costs. Across all income levels, households that earn less than $50,000 a year saw the highest proportion, around 35%, of people living paycheck to paycheck so far this year. But at higher income levels, the portion of households living paycheck to paycheck falls slowly. For instance, the share of households living paycheck to paycheck and earning between $50,000 and $75,000 is only a few percentage points higher than households earning more than $150,000. Conventionally, it seems reasonable to assume that people who earn more would have more money to make nonessential purchases compared to people who earn less. So why does that not appear to be the case? One reason the authors of the analysis offer in their report is that “higher-income households may have bought larger, more expensive, homes and consequently have bigger mortgages. And often along with bigger homes come bigger insurance costs, property taxes and utility bills.”