Study reveals America’s perfect salary

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

THINK ABOUT YOUR PERFECT SALARY. HOW MUCH IS IT?

NEW RESEARCH REVEALS THAT THE AVERAGE AMERICAN THINKS $74,000 IS THE AMOUNT THEY’D NEED TO MAKE IN ORDER TO BE HAPPY. 

BUT ONE IN FIVE SAY MAKING UPWARD OF SIX FIGURES WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ENJOY THEIR LIVES (19%), ACCORDING TO THE DATA FROM SURE-PAYROLL.

HALF OF THE 2,000 AMERICANS SURVEYED BY TALKER RESEARCH SAID THEY AREN’T CURRENTLY MAKING ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THEIR LIFESTYLE – AND IF THEY MADE MORE MONEY, THEY WOULD PRIORITIZE PRACTICALITY BY PUTTING IT IN THEIR SAVINGS OR INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS (46%) OR USING IT TO PAY OFF THEIR BILLS (42%).

OTHERS WOULD PUT IT TOWARD EXPENSES THAT ADD UP QUICKLY, LIKE GROCERIES (35%) AND TRAVEL (23%).

HOW ABOUT YOU? DO YOU THINK YOU’RE MAKING ENOUGH? WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A RAISE? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by SurePayroll and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between June 9 and June 13, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.