89% of Americans do not consider themselves wealthy, Fidelity finds

Inflation is cooling and wages are rising. Yet, few Americans — including millionaires — feel confident about their financial standing.

Across all income and asset levels, 89% of Americans said they do not consider themselves wealthy, according to Fidelity Investments’ State of Wealth Mobility study. Fidelity polled 1,900 adults in August.

“Only one-tenth of Americans consider themselves wealthy today — despite many having considerable wealth,” said Rich Compson, head of wealth solutions at Fidelity Investments.

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For most Americans, the definition of what it means to be wealthy is relatively modest, with 71% saying being wealthy is simply the ability to not have to live paycheck to paycheck.

Roughly 57% said wealth also entails traveling and taking vacations, while 56% said it’s being able to pass down money to the next generation.

Nearly half — 49% — said feeling wealthy meant the ability to own a home, Fidelity found.

For high-net worth individuals, or those with $1 million or more in savings and investable assets not including real estate or retirement funds, more households associated wealth with traveling and fewer said a major criterion for feeling wealthy was not living paycheck to paycheck.

Surprisingly, the same share — 49% — said being wealthy meant owning a home.

One “silver lining” is that affordability has improved somewhat since October 2023, when mortgage rates were near 8%, according to a new analysis by Freddie Mac.

Although vacationing has also gotten more expensive, Americans are still determined to travel.

Travel spending among households continues to outpace its pre-pandemic levels, some reports show.

However, concerns about high prices are playing a larger role in keeping some would-be vacationers home. Those that are travelling have had to adjust their budgets accordingly, spending roughly 10% more compared to 2023, according to another study by Deloitte.