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By Melissa Fleur Afshar
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A Reddit post questioning whether earning $75,000 a year in the U.S. makes someone "poor" has reignited an age-old debate around income—specifically what the "right" income is.
The post, shared on March 25 by user u/NoHousing11, included a screenshot of a now-viral social media exchange debating the usefulness of the salary and asked: "Do you consider a salary of $75,000 to be poor?" The discussion quickly took off on Reddit, receiving over 4,000 upvotes and prompting hundreds of responses from users across the country.
Many users echoed a common sentiment: "It depends." The prevailing view is that the label of "poor" is deeply contextual—dependent on where a person lives, their household size and how they manage their money.
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"It really does depend on how and where you live," Jeffrey Christakos, a financial planning researcher pursuing a Ph.D. at Texas Tech University, told Newsweek.
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Christakos, who has over 30 years of experience as certified accountant and financial planner, added: "As an example, cohabitating in a Midwestern state would have a more reasonable cost structure than living as a single person in NYC."
Christakos emphasized that lifestyle choices and financial goals play a central role in how far a $75,000 salary can go. Not to mention the fact that the average salary in the U.S. sits below that figure, at around $66,622, according to the latest data from the Social Security Administration.
"It also depends on whether you are living just for today or if you are worried about your financial future," he said. "If you are concerned, you will dedicate a portion of that income to savings instead of using the income to enjoy your current life."
Certified financial planner Michael Rodriguez also weighed in, telling Newsweek that sweeping declarations about what income counts as "poor" often miss the mark.
"When it comes to a particular salary being 'poor,' it truly does not do anybody any credit," Rodriguez said. "Money is the most personal of all, and what your salary can buy depends on where you live and the lifestyle you adopt."
Rodriguez cited contrasting examples from his own work: "I worked with a client in Long Beach who was making $66k a year as an athletic trainer. She lived in a place with reasonable rent, drove an older car that she took care of, and did not spend much on things like subscriptions or eating out all the time. She would not have considered herself poor by any stretch."
He continued: "I also know of people earning more than $200k who feel financially squeezed because they have a large mortgage, travel frequently and eat out a lot. But the point is that these sweeping statements just don't make sense, like '70k is poor.' They're built around what's happening in one individual's life, and that's not the entire story."
The Reddit discussion included dozens of personal anecdotes. One user wrote that $75,000 feels comfortable in parts of the U.S., but barely lets you scrape by in other cities. Another noted that lifestyle inflation—when people spend more as they earn more—can blur the line between being financially stable and feeling broke.
"I don't think that would be 'poor' for NYC you certainly wouldn't be able to afford your own apartment, but that's also the norm," one viewer said.
Another added: "The median household income in NYC is like $80,000, $75,000 individual income is absolutely good income in NYC."
"Seeing s*** like this makes me so depressed, I make $25,000 a year, $75,000 would make me feel I'm the richest person in the world," another said.
Rodriguez cautioned against readers using income benchmarks to determine their self-worth or level of success.
"Rather than concern yourself with what others might think you 'should' feel when it comes to income," he said, "consider how you can maximize what is already in your possession."
Newsweek reached out to u/NoHousing1 for more information via Reddit.
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