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Finance company Charles Schwab asked 1,000 people in the D.C. area how much it takes to be wealthy. Their answer: $2.7 million. And in order to be “financially comfortable,” a net worth of about $720,000 will do.
They estimated that in the rest of the country, it takes significantly less: $1.8 million to be wealthy, and $620,000 to be comfortable.
While D.C. Maryland, and Virginia are all in the top ten states with households grossing at least $1 million in assets, the region’s median household net worth is around $188,921, Washingtonian reported last year. Of the people who responded to the Schwab survey, only about 20 percent make less than $50,000 a year, so you can take those figures with a heaping of salt.
The high figures have much to do with the cost of housing, which 66 percent of respondents say is one of the worst in the country. Another 62 percent also cites the cost of living as among the country’s worst.
So why are they staying? In addition to positive responses about the region’s D.C.’s arts and dining scenes, respondents also favored the city’s quality of life, employment rate, and education systems—46 percent of them even approved of the District’s public transportation. Plus, nearly 60 percent say that the region’s economy is in better shape than the country as a whole, and about 7 out of every 10 people are confident that they will still reach their financial goals.
