How Much Is Six-Figures? What About 7, 8, 9 Figures?

I’m sure you have already heard about six, seven, eight, or nine-figures. For example, people like to brag that they have a six-figure salary.

If you do not know what that exactly means, do not worry. You are not alone.

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It might be confusing initially, but once you understand the rule, you can easily use this term in everyday life. In this article, I am going to explain to you the difference in number figures.

Plus, I will introduce you to the best careers you can pursue if you want to see six digits on your paycheck. As a dose of inspiration, I am also going to tell you about the richest people in the world.

What Is A Figure?

To help you better understand what I am talking about, let’s start by explaining what exactly a figure is. Each digit in a number is a figure.

For example, if someone is earning a seven-figure salary, it means that they get between $1,000,000 and $9,999,999 a year. As you can see, there are seven digits in the number, so it has seven-figures.

How Does Six-Figures Relate To Money?

In case you are still a little bit confused regarding what figures mean, let me explain them with some examples:

Example 1: The number 5,000 has four digits, so it is a four-figure number. When we are talking about four-figure numbers, we are speaking about everything between 1,000 and 9,999.
Example 2: For 60,000, you can see five digits, and because of that, it is a five-figure number. Numbers between 10,000 and 99,999 are called five-figure numbers.
Example 3: When you take a look at 700,000, you will notice that this number has six digits. That means it is a six-figure number. While earning a six-figure salary, you earn between $100,000 and $999,999 a year.
Example 4: 8,000,000 has seven digits, and that makes this number a seven-figure number. People who earn a seven-figure salary are commonly called millionaires.
Example 5: For 90,000,000, there are eight digits. That makes it an eight-figure number. Those who get such a high salary are known as multi-millionaires.
Example 6: In the case where the number has nine digits, for example, 100,000,000, we are talking about nine-figures. People who earn nine-figures yearly are also called multi-millionaires.
Example 7: If there are 10 digits in a number, we are talking about ten-figure numbers. People who earn ten-figures per year are known as billionaires.

Speaking of billionaires, some of the most popular billionaires alive today are Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, and Kylie Jenner, known from Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

What Percentage Of Americans Make $100,000 A Year?

Even though many people dream of having a six-figure annual salary, only a small percentage can enjoy it. In the United States, less than 30% of the population earns above $100,000 a year.

That means 70% of Americans make below $100,000 a year. It is interesting to note that many of the people who are earning six or more digits are investors. They earn money through interest, rentals, or dividends.

Is Making Six-Figures Good?

The answer to this question depends on what you expect from your life. You can make six-figures and live a very comfortable, worry-free life. But, if you are used to or expect a lot of luxury, earning six-figures may not be very satisfying for you.

If we take a look at lower figures, you won’t see a big difference, for example with four-figure numbers. The difference between 1,000 and 9,999 is around nine thousand.

Now, when we are talking about higher numbers, with six-figures, that looks a bit different. You may not feel that you earn enough while making $100,000 a year, but if it grows to up to a few hundred thousand, then you may feel differently.

Are Six-Figure Income Earners Wealthy?

It is hard to answer this question. On the one hand, yes, on the other hand, no. Six-figure income earners are wealthier than most of the world”s population.

In the case where you are earning an income closer to the lower threshold of $100,000, it can definitely be enough to be comfortable and free of financial worries.

That kind of income classifies you for the upper class. If you surpass $200,000, then you are going to be considered wealthy.

Think about that. $200,000 is double the first mentioned six-figure salary of $100,000.

Now, to get to the top of the top, you have to earn more than $300,000 a year. That will take you to the top one percent of earners in the United States.

How Can I Earn A Six-Figure Salary?

As I mentioned before, the easiest way to get to the top of the top is to invest your money. If you do not have a high income, or are not the daughter of a king, or have not received a rich aunt’s inheritance, hold on. You still have a chance to get a six-figure salary.

Right behind investors on the ladder of people who earn above $100,000 a year, are those who work in hospitals, specialize in computer sciences, construction, or law.

Some of the most common professions which can lead you to your dream income are:

Social Media

As social media becomes more and more popular, there is also a need for people who understand it. You can try to create your own fashion or travel Instagram account and become a social media star.

If you do not like exposure, and prefer to work behind the scenes, being a social media account manager or SEO expert can become your dream job. You can learn how to become one here, even if you don’t have prior experience.

Blogging

Similarly to social media, blogging and vlogging are booming. Find your niche and work your way out to the world.

Bloggers often earn a lot of money for advertising products or services. They can be paid a sponsorship to review luxury resorts or goods.

Being a blogger may seem easy, but in the beginning, you have to invest a lot of time, and sometimes money, to become visible on the net. Learn the blueprint for blogging success.

Entrepreneur

While a business degree is helpful, it’s often the scrappy people with a can-do attitude who succeed at business. They don’t let the nay-sayers get in their way and have business smarts that can’t be taught in school.

Another way entrepreneurs succeed is by realizing their limitations and knowledge gaps and hiring people who can fill those.

They also don’t take on a lot of debt for untested ideas. If you have an idea and can scale it with little cost, building a successful income as an entrepreneur is possible.

Learn how to start your business here.

Actuary

Actuaries have excellent mathematical and statistical skills, and they usually work for financial companies. The median salary for this profession in the USA is $102,880 per year.

Anesthesiologist

Anesthesiologists are doctors who specialized in local and general anesthesia during medical procedures. On average, working as an anesthesiologist, you can earn $292,369 per year.

Dentist

I do not think I have to introduce you to this profession. Dentists make many people scared, but also help you have a beautiful smile. If you decide to pursue a dental career, you can earn an average of $156,240 per year.

Obstetrician / Gynecologist:

It’s no secret that doctors earn a lot. Choosing a career as a women’s health specialist can give you a very high salary. The median wage per year for this position is $208,000.

Petroleum Engineer

People educated in this field usually work for oil companies. They are responsible for finding and designing the best and most effective methods of extracting oil and gas from the earth. On average, they can earn $137,170 per year.

Software Developer

Software developers take care of creating and fixing software in mobile apps, webpages, or something similar to this. These specialists earn a median of $105,590 per year.

All of the above careers require a college or university degree. There are still other roads you can follow if you do not have money to invest in education, or you are simply not a fan of long-night studying.

You can try professions that do not require a diploma. Here are some of them:

Bookkeeping

If you are good with numbers, you may consider entering a course to be a bookkeeper. You may need to struggle and work for a company in the beginning.

But, once you get experience, you can easily open your own practice and gain a six-figure salary. The hardest part will be finding clients which may take a little bit of time to ramp up.

Is Making Six-Figures Enough For A Good Living?

Making a low six-figure income is good enough for a family if you live in a lower cost of living area. If you are earning $100k, but live in a big coastal city, such as San Francisco or New York, that might not be enough to experience all you want from life.

However, if you are earning more than $200k, and live in a big city, you can live quite extravagantly and afford a nice vacation abroad.

If you do not mind changing places and working remotely, it might be worth considering moving to the cheapest city or even relocating to a different country. This way, you can significantly lift the level of your life.

Why Do People Brag About Making Six-Figures?

In general, people like to brag about the luxurious lifestyles they have or would like to have. They frequently use social media to mention that they earn six-figures in income.

It is hard to say why exactly people brag about their earnings. Maybe it solely makes them feel better about themselves or superior to others.

Perhaps they are not telling the truth, but seeking out attention and interaction on the internet. It could be that the money they earn does not compensate for something they lack in their personal or professional life.

Whatever the reason is, while that may be impressive, earning six-figures does not necessarily mean they are very wealthy.

While someone is bragging about a $100k income, remember it does not necessarily mean he or she is getting such a high salary. Potential earnings on stock options or extra work benefits might be included in this number.

What About Seven, Eight, And Nine-Figures?

We have talked about six-figure salaries and how you could earn this amount of money. Now, let’s focus on other options. There are still numbers with seven, eight, and nine digits.

Seven Figures

Seven-figure salaries are the ones that generate between $1,000,000 and $9,999,999 dollars a year. A very low percentage of society earns such high wages.

You must be on the top of the corporate ladder as a CEO of a very prosperous company, famous actor, celebrity, or successful athlete to earn so much.

Eight Figures

Getting a salary between $10,000,000 and $99,999,999 million dollars is even rarer. People who earn these high salaries are CEOs, company owners, social media stars, and very well-known actors.

According to Forbes, the top-earning actors in 2020 were:

Dwayne Johnson – $87.7 million
Ryan Reynolds – $71.5 million
Mark Wahlberg – $58 million
Ben Affleck – $55 million
Vin Diesel – $54 million

Nine Figures

Nine digits mean at least $100 million dollars. Having a nine-figure salary means that you are amongst the wealthiest people in the world.

“A Little Bit” Above Nine Figures

Now, this is the top! After climbing the nine steps, I can finally tell you about being above it. There are not many people to talk about. But, the numbers for their salaries, for sure, compensate for it.

Having a 10-figure salary income equals being a billionaire. There are a little more than 2,000 people earning a 10 digit wage per year.

What is interesting, is that, the United States has the highest number of people with such high salaries. 585 people in America can call themselves a real billionaire.

The Richest

Having a yearly income above the 10 digit number is extremely rare, but it does happen. While talking about these kinds of numbers, you can be sure that you are talking about the world’s wealthiest people.

According to Forbes, the wealthiest person in the world, in 2020, is Jeff Bezos. The CEO of Amazon is worth $113 billion. He is the only person in the universe who has a 13-figure number income!

Right behind him, the second richest person, is the founder of Windows. According to Forbes, this person generates $98 billion of income. As you can probably guess, Bill Gates’ salary is a 12 digit number.

Amongst the 10 wealthiest people in the world, only one woman has found her place. Alice Walton’s yearly income is estimated at $54.4 billion. That means that the wealthiest woman earns a 12 digit salary.

I hope that after reading this article, you know how to explain the difference between various figure numbers. Getting a six digit salary may sound like a dream, but remember, you need to pursue a particular type of career to end up earning between $100,000 and $999,999.

Who knows, maybe in some time, you might even become one of the world’s wealthiest people, and set new records of figures in your salary.

Conclusion

You don’t have to earn a 6-figure income in order to be happy. Depending on your life goals, the stress and pursuit of a high-digit salary may not be worth it.

Now that you know what the meaning of 6, 7, 8, and 9 figures mean, it will help you understand what type of career would be needed to achieve that. If earning 6-figures is your goal, find a career where that is possible and take the steps towards reaching it.

illustration of dollar bills showing how much is six figures

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