Have you just been offered a job that pays 4 figures? You are probably thinking about whether a 4-figure salary would be enough to live comfortably. And just how much is 4 figures?
While a yearly 4-figure paycheck is an insufficient income, you have better financial circumstances if earned in a month or a week.
In this article, we will provide a detailed description of what a 4-figure salary looks like in terms of the salary range and pay period. It may be useful to understand these various aspects, including what jobs provide it and how you can earn a 4-figure income.
How Much Is 4 Figures?
Four figures are higher than or equal to 1,000 and less than or equal to 9,999.
Any earnings within this range is a 4-figure income in terms of money. The term is often used when people describe how much money they earn from their respective occupations or businesses.
For instance, a person who is compensated $3,500 monthly earns a 4-figure salary. Similarly, a person earning $8,750 in annual wages also earns a 4-figure salary.
However, the range between 1,000 and 9,999 is quite wide. We may need to evaluate it from different perspectives, as not everyone earns the same 4-figure salary.
Person A earning $1,000, and Person B earning 9,000, are both earning a 4-figure income, yet there is a wide difference between the amounts.
How Much Is Low 4 Figures?
A low 4-figure income would be between $1,000 and $3,000.
If you get paid around $15,000 a year, your monthly income would be around $1,250, a low 4-figure income. Similarly, if you earn around $24,000 per year, your monthly income would be $2,000, which would also be in the low 4 figures.
Earning a low monthly income puts you squarely in the bracket where managing finances between paychecks can become a balancing act.
For many in this income range, unexpected expenses such as a medical bill or car repair can disrupt the budget, making payday loans a tempting but risky solution. These loans offer immediate relief by providing cash ahead of the next paycheck but often come with high interest rates and fees, leading to potential traps of recurring debt.
Budgeting and careful planning are essential to avoid falling into such financial pitfalls.
How Much Is Mid 4 Figures?
A mid-4-figure income is easy to calculate. The mid-level income is $5,000; if we consider a mid-4-figure income range, it would be from $4,000 to $6,000.
If you are interested in earning a mid-4-figure income in a month, you can start a small business as extra work, side hustle, or find a part-time job.
Many part-time workers or students take up jobs in their free time or summers to earn mid-4 figures.
How Much Is High 4 Figures?
Now, we will look at what a high 4 figures look like.
Any amount between $7,000 and $9,999 would be considered a high 4-figure salary. So, if you earn any amount within this range in a week, month, or a year, you would have earned a 4-figure income in the said period.
Inflation is at an all-time high. Even individuals who earn a high salary have to be more financially smart by smart budgeting. In the early 1900s, the average annual salary of a US worker was around $3,000. Now, it is impossible to survive on a 4-figure yearly income in a developed country like the US.
Thus, if you are taking home a 4-figure annual pay, you are earning a meager income and most likely struggling to make ends meet. But if your 4-figure salary is from a side hustle or a part-time job, and you have other main income sources, your circumstances may be much better.
We also need to consider whether the 4-figure income is a high, mid, or low 4-figure. Saying an individual makes 4 figures in a day, month, or year means different things. It could be their salary or wage, income from a business, or sales figures cumulated in a certain period.
Thus, the meaning of 4 figures would also depend on the source of income.
Who Earns 4 Figures?
Surviving on a 4-figure yearly income is next to impossible.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median weekly earnings of full-time workers in the first quarter of 2022 were $1,037, or roughly $4,148 monthly/$53,924. Individuals earning lower than this average wage find it challenging to manage their expenses and afford a decent lifestyle.
Thus, a 4-figure yearly salary is inconceivable today unless it is from a side hustle or a part-time job, providing just an additional income stream.
In some areas, individuals working on an hourly basis may earn a 4-figure income. There are low hourly job roles in the hospitality industry, which offer additional income through tips.
If an individual has a service role, is paid $2 per hour, and works for 10 hours per week, their weekly income would be $20, and their yearly income would be $1,040 ($20 x 52 weeks).
However, individuals earning this salary are not expected to survive on that base salary only. As suggested earlier, they earn additional income through tips, and in most scenarios, the tips they receive are up to much more than they receive as their salary.
Technically speaking, these workers still earn a 4-figure salary, but their overall income would be considerably more. They may be able to earn a 5-figure annual income and cope with their expenditure requirements without being stuck in a debt cycle or lying on the brink of the poverty line.
Is a 4 Figure Salary Good?
Whether a 4-figure salary is a good money is subject to the period it is earned. If you earn a 4-figure annual income, it may be inadequate unless it is just a side hustle or a part-time job and your survival is not entirely dependent on that income.
However, things would be significantly different if you earned the said 4 figures monthly. If your monthly salary is $5,000, your annual income would be $60,000, which is lower than the average US individual income of $63,214 and the US household median income of $72,933.
What Are 4-Figure Salary Jobs?
In an earlier section, we highlighted that surviving on an annual income ranging between $1,000 and $9,999 is almost impossible unless you have other income sources. Inflation and increasing living costs in developing countries have rendered a 4-figure annual income insignificant.
Considering a monthly 4-figure income, you may find several jobs that pay this much.
Here are some jobs that pay a mid-4-figure monthly income:
- Assistant editor
- Warehouse worker
- Seasonal laborer
- Rig drilling jobs
- Housecleaner
- Clerical assistant
- Warehouse support
- Operations specialist
You may also find several part-time options to help you make money by at least an additional $1,000 per month. You can use the extra money for saving, investing in an asset, or planning a vacation. Here are a few money-making ideas:
- Take part in surveys at home. You will get paid by simply answering questionnaires or participating in focus group discussions sponsored by business firms doing product research. Here are some of the best online survey sites to earn cash and gift cards, with the following sites even offering sign-up cash bonuses:
- Swagbucks. You get a $5 bonus when you sign up and earn your first money with Swagbucks.
- InboxDollars. Read our InboxDollars review. Sign up for free, and you’ll even get a $5 InboxDollars sign-up bonus.
- Survey Junkie. By joining Survey Junkie, one of the most popular, reliable, and easy-to-use survey websites, you will receive a $5 bonus and earn points that you can exchange for gift cards or cash. Learn more about the platform in our Survey Junkie review and make more money.
- Flip items for profit. If you are good at finding saleable goods and reselling them at a profit, there are many online sites like Craigslist, Letgo, eBay, and Amazon where you can earn cash by buying and selling. You can also buy secondhand items or sell preloved or unused goods in online flea markets.
- Work as a virtual assistant. Working from home with flexible hours, you can do your tasks as virtual support for a company’s full-time staff. The work could range from routine office stuff like answering emails to managing the boss’s schedule.
- Sell your skills as a part-time freelance worker. Online job platforms like Upwork, FlexJobs, and Fiverr are hubs for freelance workers and employers. Therefore, if you have marketable skills like proofreading, software development, marketing, transcription, etc., you should create a smashing resume and list your profile at these job sites.
- Play online games. If you are an avid gamer, this is the perfect side hustle. Platforms like Mistplay, InboxDollars, or Swagbucks allow you to play to your heart’s content as you collect points that can be redeemed as cash or gift cards.
- You can earn passive income by investing in stocks, bonds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and keep track of the market movements to sell and buy at the right time to increase your income.
Best Way to Earn 4 Figures
If you want to create an additional income stream, you can easily set up your own business, do freelancing gigs as a part-time job, or start a side hustle. Earlier, we looked at a few part-time job options you can consider if you have extra time.
Here are a few online job ideas that you can consider to earn some extra money on the side:
- Affiliate marketing
- Virtual assistant
- Graphic designing
- Freelance writing
- Blogging
- Watching Ads
- E-book writing
- Online teaching
- Starting a niche website
- Selling a product like jewelry
- Comic art
When starting any of these jobs, it’s essential to continually enhance your skills and be patient, as building a steady customer base takes time. Utilizing social media and professional networks is crucial for increasing visibility and attracting clients.
Effective financial management, including meticulous record-keeping of income and expenses, is vital for operational success and simplifies tax-related tasks. Selecting a job that aligns well with your skills and available time ensures you can maintain quality and manage commitments effectively.
Commitment to a comprehensive business plan, which includes marketing strategies and financial projections, is foundational to turning a side job into a profitable venture. Through persistent improvement, strategic promotion, and diligent financial tracking, you can successfully establish and grow a side business.
Frequently Asked Questions – How Much Is 4 Figures?
How Much Is 4 Figures a Year?
A 4-figure yearly income would be anywhere between $1,000 -$9,999.
4-figure yearly income in a developed country like the US or UK is categorized as meager and deemed impossible to survive on if that is their only income source.
How Much Is 4 Figures a Month?
Four figures a month are between $1,000 and $9,999.
An individual earning a monthly 4-figure income, for instance, $4,000, would have a gross income of $48,000 yearly, which is still below the median income range.
How Much Is 4 Figures a Week?
Four figures a week implies that an individual may earn any amount between $1,000 and $9,999 weekly.
If an individual earns $2,000 per week, their annual income would be $104,000, translating into a 6-figure yearly income.
How Much Is 4 Figures a Day?
An individual earning 4 figures daily earns anywhere between $1,000- $9,999 in a single day.
If an individual earns $1,500 a day and works 5 days a week, their annual income would be $390,000. This computation is based on the assumption that a year has 52 weeks, and if the individual works straight for 5 days a week, they will have worked for 260 days in a year (52 x 5 = 260 days).
Conclusion – How Much Is 4 Figures?
Four figures earned annually is not the income we seek to take home. Even in the high 4 figures (i.e., $9,999), it’s still below the income poverty guidelines set by the US federal government for a single-person household ($12,880/year), much more for a family of five ($31,045).
But if an amount with 4 figures is your weekly or daily income, that’s a different (happy) story!
We all have certain aspirations when we enter our professional lives. Some desire to earn enough to afford a decent lifestyle, while others are more ambitious and dream of becoming millionaires or even billionaires one day.
Regardless of our salaries, we should strive to develop and maximize multiple income streams through side hustles or investing. Only then can we achieve financial empowerment with more than four figures in our annual paychecks.
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Founder of Spark Nomad, Radical FIRE, Journalist
Expertise: Personal finance and travel content
Education: Bachelor of Economics at Radboud University, Master in Finance at Radboud University, Minor in Economics at Chapman University.
Over 200 articles, essays, and short stories published across the web.
Experience: Marjolein Dilven is a journalist and founder of Radical FIRE, a personal finance platform, and Spark Nomad, a travel platform. Marjolein has a finance and economics background with a master’s in Finance. She has quit her job to travel the world, documenting her travels on Spark Nomad to help people plan their travels. Marjolein Dilven has written for publications like MSN, Associated Press, CNBC, Town News syndicate, and more.