Are you a HENRY?

High Earner, Not Rich Yet. This calculator checks if your income qualifies for HENRY.

Household Income

Household type

Dependents

Cost of Living

Medium Cost of Living (MCOL) cities include Austin, Denver, and Atlanta. Expect about 1.5x as much income here vs LCOL.

You are

A HENRY 🎉

Minimum threshold $150,000/year for this household mix and cost of living.

Progress to HENRY

167%

Household income: $250,000/yr
HENRY minimum: $150,000/yr
Above by: $100,000/yr
Household type: Single
Dependents: 0
Cost of living: Medium

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About HENRY

What does HENRY mean?

HENRY stands for High Earner, Not Rich Yet. The paycheck is strong for the household and cost of living, but net worth has not caught up yet. This tool scores income only, not assets, debt, or investable wealth.

Why is it not a flat number?

A single adult in Omaha does not need the same income as a married household with kids in New York. The bar scales with household type, dependents, and COL instead of one national cutoff.

High earner vs rich

Clearing the bar means your household income is high for this mix and COL. It does not mean you are rich. Rich is about assets and optionality. Many HENRYs still carry a mortgage, student loans, or a thin emergency fund.

What does this calculator ignore?

Taxes, bonuses that do not repeat, equity that is not sold, side income, and local quirks beyond the COL tier. Use household income you can reasonably count on for a year.

Our assumptions

LCOL baseline for a single adult with no dependents is $100,000/year. Married adds $75,000 before COL (about 75% of the adult base, for shared costs, not a second full adult). Each dependent adds $30,000 before COL.

COL then scales that LCOL base. Single adult floors land at about $100k LCOL, $150k MCOL, $200k HCOL, and $300k VHCOL. Figures are USD and aimed at US households. This is a draft rule of thumb, not tax advice or a wealth score.

Are you a HENRY?

Smart Insight

About HENRY

Formulas

Smart Insight

About HENRY

Formulas