Goldman Sachs Says 40% of Americans Earning Over $300,000 Are Still Living Paycheck to Paycheck
Key takeaways
- The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks.
- The report attributes the squeeze to a long arc of cost shifts that have unfolded since 2000.
- Workers confirm the pressure directly.
Goldman Sachs Says 40% of Americans Earning Over $300,000 Are Still Living Paycheck to Paycheck David Beren Sat, May 9, 2026 at 11:31 PM GMT+7 5 min read GS Quick Read Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s 2025 Retirement Survey reveals that structural cost pressures—housing rising from 21% to 36% of income, childcare from 10% to 25%, private college from 9% to 33%, and healthcare from 12% to 33% since 2000—have narrowed the gap between income and expenses, leaving little room for retirement savings, with 67% of workers citing too many monthly expenses as a constraint.
Rising costs in housing, healthcare, college, and childcare are outpacing inflation and wages and will continue through 2035, creating a persistent structural challenge that has delayed major life milestones like marriage, motherhood, and home ownership while simultaneously creating a psychological disconnect where 68% of workers feel confident about retirement despite 58% believing they will outlive their savings.
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