New report reveals how much you must earn to be considered rich in France

Nearly five million people in France can be considered rich, according to a new report revealing what someone must make to class as a high-earner.  

The report was published this Tuesday, June 2, by the Observatoire des inégalités, a nonprofit that studies social inequality in France. 

According to the report, for a single person to be considered wealthy they must earn at least €4,292 a month after tax, while for a couple it is at least €6,438. For a family with two teenage children over the age of 14, the amount rises to €10,730.

In comparison, France’s monthly median income for a single person is around €2,146, for a couple €3,219, and for a family with two teenage children €5,365. 

The report, which was based on 2023 figures from INSEE, France’s national statistics agency, found that 7.5% of the French population, or 4.8 million people, are considered to be high-income earners and who meet France’s “rich” threshold.

On the other end, lower income thresholds begin much further down, with poverty defined at €1,073 or less for a single person, €1,610 or less for a couple, and €2,683 or less for a family with two teenagers, highlighting the gap between the lowest incomes and the “rich” threshold of €4,293 for a single person. 

It is important, however, to distinguish between income and wealth: these figures relate to monthly income after tax, not total assets or net worth.

Of the 7.5% who belong to this top income tier, 1% have income of more than €7,512, while a small number of people earn several hundred times the minimum wage.

At the very top, the rise of the super-rich has accelerated, widening the gap far beyond the high-income threshold discussed at the report. 

For example, the Hermès family fortune is estimated at around €163 billion, enough to match the combined value of all residential housing in major cities such as Marseille and Strasbourg. 

What are the living conditions of wealthy people in France?

Among the highest earners (the top 10%), 88% own their homes, which are typically around 30% larger than the average living spaces in France. This figure rises to 45% in other cities across the country. 

Additionally, three-quarters of them go on holiday every year, while 40% employ domestic staff such as nannies, gardeners, and cleaners.

These wealthy individuals are usually over the age of 45, as experience and career progression tend to lead to higher salaries.

Overall, being above the wealth threshold in France is associated with stable employment, home ownership, and significantly higher material comfort.

It should be noted as well that “richness” partly depends on location in France. This is because living costs vary significantly between places like Paris and rural areas, where incomes may be lower but living standards can be supported by other assets such as property or land.

The standard of living in the INSEE report is calculated by dividing a household’s disposable income by the number of consumption units. The number of consumption units is a way to account for household size: the first adult counts as 1 unit, each additional adult aged 14 or over counts as 0.5, and each child under 14 counts as 0.3.

These units follow the OECD-modified scale, a method developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to make incomes comparable across households of different sizes and is now used by INSEE in its income and inequality statistics.