Regardless of making over $135K, 1 in 5 high-earners really feel ‘depressed’ when occupied with their funds

Nearly seven in 10 Americans incomes over $135,000 yearly aren’t financially fulfilled, in response to new Gallup research from monetary companies agency Edward Jones. 

Even 77% of these bringing dwelling $135,000 to $174,999 and 63% of these incomes over $175,000 aren’t glad with their monetary state of affairs. 

And cash morale has been dropping throughout the board: About 55% of Americans say their funds are getting worse, following a multiyear development. Around 83% of execs general—accounting for about 216 million Americans—report experiencing monetary stress, pressure, or uncertainty. 

Why the rich are careworn about funds: ‘money dysmorphia’ and a scarcity of management

“Financial fulfillment is not just defined by income and net worth,” Ashley Agnew, a licensed monetary therapist and behavioral scientist at Edward Jones, tells Fortune. “It’s about combining the security it provides with personal alignment and a feeling of control that leads to a confident relationship with money.”

Finances typically float to the highest of individuals’s largest issues, leaving room for nervousness to creep in. Around 36% of individuals have felt careworn when occupied with their funds throughout the previous 30 days, in response to the report. 

And regardless of being forward of the curve, even younger excessive earners are nervous; round 71% of millennials and 67% of Gen Zers incomes six-figure salaries are careworn about their funds. The widespread pressure has grow to be so dire that one in 5 staff incomes $135,000 or extra feels “depressed” when occupied with their cash at massive. 

They could sit atop a comfortable earnings nearly double the nationwide common of around $66,000, however life-style creep and fixed comparisons are warping how they see their paychecks. As it seems, “money dysmorphia” is likely to be the issue: having a notion about their cash that doesn’t match their precise monetary actuality.

“Income and age do not fully explain financial fulfillment,” the report explains. “Even within similar demographic groups, adults differ in how manageable their finances feel, how much control they have and whether money is helping them move toward the life they want.”

Social media and life-style creep are accountable for six-figure earners with ‘money dysmorphia’ 

For many six-figure earners, the issue isn’t essentially how a lot is of their checking account—it’s how they understand what they will do with it. Agnew explains that insecurity, dangerous comparability habits, and previous trauma round shortage can all play a consider why six-figure earners can really feel “depressed” or anxious about their funds. 

“These factors are woven into our financial DNA,” the behavioral scientist says. “Early money lessons like ‘A penny saved is a penny earned’ may live in the memory of a millionaire as guilt about spending. Conversely, a message like ‘You can’t take it with you’ for someone who witnessed their parents living paycheck to paycheck might feel guilty about saying no to a trip with friends—even if it’s beyond their budget.”

Social media can also be a stress cooker for monetary stress. Just a five-minute scroll on their TikTok or Instagram feeds, and younger staff are sure to see others their age boast high-flying life. And Agnew says that millennials and Gen Zers who grew up within the digital period are particularly vulnerable; on-line procuring, push notifications, and social media all contribute to “removing a person from their reality.” Agnew explains that comparability can grow to be a “slippery slope” in precisely assessing one’s personal funds. 

“As status becomes more visual, what was once the goal now seems like the standard of success,” she provides.

Plus, the veneer of six-figure salaries has cracked. The monetary therapist explains that years in the past, a household of 4 might be glad dwelling off of a single earnings of $125,000 yearly—now, it’s almost inconceivable to reside comfortably doing the identical. Rising childcare, housing, meals, and medical prices have chipped away at disposable earnings. And the brand new threshold to reside financially free is skyrocketing, due to life-style inflation. Even 41% of American staff making between $300,001 and $500,000—and 40% of these reeling in over $500,000—say they’re dwelling paycheck to paycheck, according to a 2025 report from Goldman Sachs.

So whereas younger excessive earners suppose they might have “made it” by crossing the $100,000 mark, they’ll nonetheless be chasing an aspirational life-style that’s now not inside their finances. 

“The six-figure income is no longer the holy grail in many areas of our country,” Agnew says. “Earning $100K to $200K often doesn’t cut it to meet typical ‘rites of passage’ goals like home ownership or a wedding.”