Even the Wealthy Feel the Squeeze: 57% of High-Income Earners Say Wages Can’t Keep Up With Soaring Prices

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Think inflation only hits low-income households? Not anymore.

Even wealthy Americans are feeling trapped by the relentless rise in living costs, according to a new poll conducted by SSRS for CNN. The survey finds that 57% of workers in households earning $150,000 or more say their wages are failing to keep pace with climbing prices — a sign that economic anxiety has spread well beyond the middle class.

“We are making the most money we have ever made, yet we have the least financial freedom we have ever experienced due to increasing prices,” one Indiana resident told pollsters.

The results underscore a broader shift. For nearly three years, paychecks grew faster than inflation. But that streak broke in April 2026, according to the consumer price index. While middle- and lower-income wages stopped outpacing inflation last year, per a November report from Bank of America, the squeeze has now moved up the income ladder. In March, Bank of America reported that higher-income households saw 5.6% wage growth versus just 1% and 2% for lower- and middle-income groups. Yet even that stronger growth isn’t enough to offset the higher price baseline — especially with grocery bills and gas prices soaring over the past year.

The erosion of high-income purchasing power is reshaping how families manage their money. The CNN poll found a near-universal sense that now is a better time to save than to spend on major purchases.

“Two full-time jobs and can barely cover bills, let alone even think about getting ahead,” a man in his 30s from Arkansas responded.

An overwhelming 88% of those surveyed said they should be hoarding cash — a sentiment shared by more than 8 in 10 people in the highest income brackets. And nearly 70% believe a recession is coming within the next year.

While inflation has cooled slightly from its peak, prices remain stuck at painful highs, leaving many feeling trapped by expensive groceries and a housing market they can’t afford to enter.

“I don’t know how anyone from my generation will ever do anything except rent,” a Georgia man in his 20s said.

In this environment, some people turn to services like AdviserMatch to connect with financial advisors who can help reassess budgets, optimize savings strategies, and build plans that account for persistent inflation — rather than assuming today’s income will stretch the way it did a few years ago.

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