According to the 2025 Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey, Americans peg the threshold for being "wealthy" at $2.3 million net worth - roughly the 92nd percentile.

But viewed through the lens of Financial Independence (FIRE), the math tells a different, humbling story.

The highest widely-accepted sustainable withdrawal rate for early retirement is 3.25%. A typical American household would have much of its net-worth tied up in home equity and not investable, but even assuming the entire $2.3M is in an investment portfolio - that translates to roughly $75K/year in spending.

By the latest data, US median household income is about $84K.…