The Numbers Come First
Nearly seven in 10 Americans earning over $135,000 annually say they are not financially fulfilled, according to new Gallup research commissioned by financial services firm Edward Jones. The data cuts across income bands: 77% of those earning between $135,000 and $174,999 report dissatisfaction, and 63% of those earning above $175,000 say the same.
One in five workers at that income level — roughly double the national average salary of around $66,000 — report feeling 'depressed' when thinking about their finances. Around 36% say they felt stressed about money within the past 30 days.
The strain is not limited to the upper brackets. Approximately 83% of professionals overall — accounting for about 216 million Americans — report experiencing financial stress, strain, or uncertainty. About 55% of Americans say their finances are getting worse, a figure the report describes as part of a multi-year trend.
'Money Dysmorphia' and the Six-Figure Illusion
Ashley Agnew, a certified financial therapist and behavioral scientist at Edward Jones, told Fortune that 'financial fulfillment is not just defined by income and net worth,' but by 'combining the security it provides with personal alignment and a feeling of control that leads to a confident relationship with money.'
Agnew points to what researchers are calling 'money dysmorphia' — a perception about one's financial reality that does not match the actual numbers. Insecurity, harmful comparison habits, and past trauma around scarcity can all contribute to why six-figure earners feel anxious or depressed about their paychecks, she said.
Social media accelerates the distortion. Agnew noted that millennials and Gen Zers who grew up in the digital era are especially susceptible, as online shopping, push notifications, and social media all contribute to 'removing a person from their reality.' Around 71% of millennials and 67% of Gen Zers earning six-figure salaries report financial stress.
Real Costs, Not Just Perception
The anxiety is not purely psychological. Agnew explained that years ago, a family of four could live comfortably on a single income of $125,000 annually — a benchmark she now calls 'nearly impossible.' Rising childcare, housing, food, and medical costs have eroded disposable income at every level.
The data from a separate 2025 Goldman Sachs report, cited in the story, shows the pressure extends even further up the income ladder: 41% of workers earning between $300,001 and $500,000, and 40% of those earning over $500,000, say they are living paycheck to paycheck.
'The six-figure income is no longer the holy grail in many areas of our country,' Agnew said. 'Earning $100K-$200K often doesn't cut it.'
CEO Times View
The real story here is not a mental health crisis — it is a purchasing-power crisis manufactured by years of deficit spending, monetary expansion, and regulatory costs that drove up the price of housing, healthcare, and childcare faster than wages could follow. When 83% of working Americans report financial stress and even earners well above the median feel squeezed, the problem is not their perception. The problem is that government policy inflated the cost of living while shrinking the value of every dollar earned.
Free enterprise rewards productivity, but only when the rules of the game are stable and the currency holds its value. The 'money dysmorphia' framing is interesting, but policymakers should not hide behind a therapeutic label. Capital rewards clear rules and sound money. Until Washington gets serious about both, no salary threshold will feel like enough.
