OMAHA, Neb.–Spurred by a recent announcement by Amazon that it was doubling its maximum base pay to $350,000 for some of its corporate and tech employees, a new survey has asked Americans, "At what salary cap would the everyday U.S. employee be satisfied?"
“In other words, at what maximum salary at any point in their career would they be content with? $50,000? $100,000? $250,000?” said Breeze, which conducted the survey of 1,500 U.S. workers. “And would they lower that number if they had remote flexibility?”
In response to the question, "Would you be satisfied if your maximum salary over the course of your working career capped out at $xx,xxx (regardless of jobs held throughout your career, you would never earn more than $xx,xxx)?
What Respondents Said
Here's what respondents said:
- 39% would be satisfied maxing out at $50,000
- 51% would be satisfied maxing out at $65,000
- 61% would be satisfied maxing out at $75,000
- 71% would be satisfied maxing out at $90,000
- 78% would be satisfied maxing out at $100,000
- 81% would be satisfied maxing out at $115,000
- 83% would be satisfied maxing out at $125,000
- 86% would be satisfied maxing out at $150,000
- 90% would be satisfied maxing out at $200,000
- 91% would be satisfied maxing out at $250,000
- 93% would be satisfied maxing out at $350,000
- 94% would be satisfied maxing out at $500,000
It's worth noting that the average annual salary in the U.S. is $51,168 according to the most recent data, Breeze reported.
Value of Flexibility
The survey also asked, "If you were granted remote/hybrid flexibility for the remainder of your career (never have to be in the office full-time again), would you be satisfied with a lower maximum salary cap than what you previously answered?"
The majority of workers would indeed be content with a lower maximum salary if they had remote flexibility for the remainder of their careers, which falls in line with a previous Breeze study that found workers were willing to take pay cuts to hold onto remote work.
The full survey can be found here.