- The typical HENRY — high earner, not rich yet — is 32, lives in a city, and makes six figures.
- Most HENRYs don’t have kids but have $80,000 in student loan debt to pay off.
- Despite making more than most Americans, many HENRYs don’t feel financially secure.
Making six figures in a metropolitan area as a Gen Z or millennial? Chances are, you’re a HENRY.
The typical HENRY — or high earner, not rich yet — is an urban 32-year-old without kids, makes a six-figure income, and has lots of student debt. This is according to data on 1,500 clients shared with Insider from Stash Wealth, a financial advisor for HENRYs.
Though most HENRYs make above $100,000 a year, many are cautious about spending and saving. While some live more extravagant lives, many save upwards of 50% of their income each year for retirement and to create a stable safety cushion.
“The biggest mistake we see HENRYs make is winging it with their financial life for too long — saving for the sake of saving or investing for the sake of investing,” Priya Malani, founder and CEO at Shash Wealth, previously told Insider. “Without concrete goals in mind, HENRYs are throwing money in an ad hoc fashion and not allowing it to work for them towards their short-, mid-, and long-term.”
Meet the HENRYs
HENRYs typically are between the ages of 27 and 42 and live in metropolitan areas, according to Stash Wealth. Average income for those living in a Tier 1 city like New York City or Los Angeles with highly developed real estate markets comes in between $100,000 and $500,000, while this drops to around $80,000 for smaller cities. All races are represented among HENRY clients, despite some improving but still-extant racial gaps in net worth.
Take Savannah White, who saves as much as 50% of her around six-figure income each year. The 26-year-old Texan said she rarely goes out to eat and drives a cheap car that she’s mostly paid off. She’s been cautious amid rising prices and frequent layoffs in her industry, though she still splurges here and there on vacations and higher-quality food — the things that matter to her.
“When some people look at our lives, they say we are really thrifty, that we must feel limited or that we are missing out, but I don’t feel held back,” White previously told Insider. “We still take plenty of nice vacations — lots of international trips, often multiple times a year — I have some nice clothing, we spend quite a bit of money on high-quality food.”
Additionally, around half of HENRYs are cohabitating, though not all are married. Many HENRYs are also DINKs, or double income, no kids. Around 60% of HENRYs don’t have kids, meaning some couples can avoid the costs of raising children, like childcare.
Couples with no children have the highest net worth out of all other types of family structures, with a median net worth of around $399,000 — nearly $150,000 more than couples with children.
Making a lot but not feeling wealthy
Many HENRYs are on their second or third job, and their salary starts to feel like “real money” instead of being devoted just to expenses. Despite some history with saving, budgeting, and investing, HENRYs want to figure out how to make their money work harder for them.
HENRYs are in the 60th to mid-90th percentiles by median income, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. In 2022, the median family income for the 60th to 80th percentile was nearly $116,000, while the median income for the 80th to 90th percentile was $189,000.
Gen Z and millennial net worth skyrocketed during the pandemic, as Americans under 35 experienced a 143% rise in real net worth from 2019 to 2022. Still, much of this wealth is wrapped up in housing amid elevated interest rates.
Despite making more than most Americans, many HENRYs are still worried about their financial futures. Five HENRYs told Insider they’re saving upwards of 40% to 70% of their income each year.
Sherry, a Gen Zer who works in wealth management, said she and her millennial husband have saved around 70% of their combined income. Sherry, who asked to use her first name for privacy reasons, said they live a modest life due to concerns about the global economy and US inflation. She’s also concerned about childcare costs, especially as she continues to advance her career.
Saving most of her income has become a habit she can’t break — especially after buying a home — though she feels comforted that they have a good-sized nest egg. While it’s hard for them to justify purchases over a couple hundred dollars, they still shop, dine out, and watch movies.
“I want to take care of my parents, I want to buy them a long-term care policy or something like that in case I need to put them in a nursing home,” Sherry said. “I feel the responsibility to help them with retirement.”
Many HENRYs have fallen victim to lifestyle creep, meaning discretionary consumption rises with increased income and standard of living. However, Malani said many have recently been cautious about spending — some overly cautious. Some are over-saving for retirement, feeling guilt for spending on leisure or travel when they could’ve devoted that money to long-term investments.
Bad time to be a HENRY?
Some believe it’s a bad time to be a HENRY amid slower wage growth compared to their lower-income peers. Over the last few years, workers in the bottom 10% of wages had larger wage gains than those in the top 10%. Many HENRYs are worried about layoffs in high-paying industries, even as blue-collar jobs — particularly in leisure and hospitality — are booming.
Given many HENRYs got an undergraduate degree, with some pursuing doctorates, student loans are particularly elevated, as the average HENRY student loan balance comes in at $80,000. By contrast, the average federal student loan balance for all Americans with loans is nearly $38,000.
Childcare is another particularly costly worry on the minds of many HENRYs. For those earning between $150,000 and $250,000, childcare costs have increased 8% from 2022 to 2023, according to research from the Bank of America Institute.
This has pushed some HENRYs to spend less on material goods and more on experiences — though even concert tickets and dining have gone up over the last year as a result of “funflation.” Even wealthier consumers have increasingly turned to dollar stores, used car shops, and affordable restaurants including Olive Garden and McDonald’s.
Sarah Baus, a content creator and strategist in Charleston, SC, previously told Insider said she and her husband save 50% to 70% of their combined income by planning out meals over two weeks, buying a home for under $300,000 with a $1,300 monthly mortgage, and even making her own detergent.
“As you increase income throughout promotions or side hustles, if you can maintain the living expenses and the comfort level that you have and not change that, then over the years, it’s just an incremental build where you can then have the savings and investments that eventually are able to fund your lifestyle,” Baus said.
Are you a HENRY who is worried about saving for the future? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@insider.com.
