Gen Zs idea of a successful salary is nearly 600% of what Boomers settle for, shocking poll reveals

Gen Z is far off from cashing in on their dreams of financial success.The “Secret to Success” study published by Empower revealed Gen Z has an inflated sense of what salary they need to make to be considered successful — and they don’t want money for the reasons you think.

The financial services firm surveyed 2,203 American adults to determine their opinions and goals regarding “financial success.” They discovered that while Gen Z makes the least amount of money they think they need the most while Baby Boomers make the most but have the lowest financial goals.Americans think they need an average salary of about $270,000 annually to succeed.

But that amount varies drastically by generation — with a nearly $488,000 gap separating Gen Z and Boomers.Gen Z thinks they need a $587,797 yearly pay to be successful while Boomers would settle for $99,874 a year.Meanwhile, Millennials think bringing home $180,865 a year would be sufficient for success but Gen X believes they need a yearly salary of $212,321.

However, the majority of Americans are making nowhere near their successful salary goal, according to the most recent data from the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Salaried workers cashed out with a median weekly earnings of $1,165 in the third quarter of this year, which would add up to a $60,580 per year salary.Paychecks did increase by an average of 4.2% from last year but struggled to make that much of a difference due to the 2.6% inflation rate the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers reported.

About (51%) of adults believe that a well-paying job is the best way to achieve financial success, but many people know that it’s not just about what your paycheck brings in.Americans also describe financial success as accumulating an average net worth of $5.3 million — although that also varies by generation.

Gen X and Millennials agree that the dream would be to have a net worth of about $5.5 million.But Gen Z and Boomers are much farther off...