Want A Wealthy Man? Guess When Guys Hit Their Financial Peak.

When Men Hit Their Financial Peak. It’s Later than Many Think.

Now, before we get into the technicalities of this thing, let me just say that even though damn near every woman on Kendra G’s online dating show says that they want a six-figure man, please don’t assume that automatically means that someone is rolling in the dough. In fact, earlier this year, I read an article which had this headline: “Where is six figures considered low income? Try Orange, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties” (SMDH). It’s also important to keep in mind that “hitting a peak” doesn’t automatically mean rich or wealthy — it’s simply the age when someone has the ability to earn the most money in their lifetime.

THAT SAID, from what I’ve semi-briefly read and researched, if you want to be with a guy once he is at the pinnacle of his earnings — dun, dun, dun, dun — you are looking for him to be in his mid-late 40s or early 50s.

A literal quote: “According to compensation research firm PayScale, full-time workers with Bachelor’s degrees tend to make the most money in their 40s and 50s.” Another article which backs it: “Men hit their peak-earning age 11 years later than women, at 55 versus 44…The PayScale study found that [B]lack men reach their peak earning at age 59 with a median salary of $80,000, while white men hit their peak four years earlier making $104,100.” 

Oh, and then if you REALLY want a reality check, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Median weekly earnings $1,227 for men, $1,021 for women, first quarter 2024.”

Okay, so if you put all of this together, seems to me that if you’re like I am and you prefer Black men (by the way, another FACT is Black men prefer us back), if you want someone who makes well over the average income, you would need to select a man who is in his 50s — because a man in his mid-20s to mid-30s makes around $46K, a man in his mid-30s to mid-40s makes close to $60K (on average). And you know what a lot of this comes down to? A man who does make it into the “$100K club,” he has to go above and beyond to make that happen. 

This means that you should also keep in mind that peak finances speaks to earning potential more than anything else (which is why some reports state that the average peak salary for a man clocks at $95K by the age of 53 while the average peak salary for women is $61K around the age of 41).

So yeah, if a man in his 30s seems more interested in fulfilling purpose a​nd stacking cash, he actually has science on his side for why that is a bigger priority of long-term commitment and marriage — at least as ​far as his finances are concerned.

Hey, but you don’t have to take my word (and news articles) on it…

5 Men Speak on How They Prioritize Financial Wealth When It Comes to Relationships

While I was in the process of creating this content, I decided to ask some men to share their thoughts on how money and relationships line up in their own world. Here’s what five of them had to say.

1. Daniel. 32. Single. “I think it’s wild how women will talk about how much men are scared of commitment and then turn around and say that they don’t want to go 50/50. Damn y’all, pick a team because, if you want a man to take care of you, that’s not cheap and it takes time. No amount of pressure on Instagram, from my mama or anywhere else is going to get me to get into something serious until I am ready. ‘Ready’ for me includes knowing that I can carry a household. That will take as long as it needs to.”

2. Rashad. 25. Dating. “My uncles have always told me that I shouldn’t worry about getting into a serious relationship until my 30s. I think that is solid advice because, right now, it’s about focusing on my career and figuring out what I want the rest of my life to look like. I’m not surprised that a man doesn’t make the kind of money that he really wants to until his 40s or 50s. What I think is crazy is how consumed a lot of women are with money and they don’t know that.”

3. Talon. 48. In a Serious Relationship. “I’ve been making six figures for about 12 years at this point. I don’t talk about it with the women I date because it’s none of their business. Not until I’m engaged should my finances be any of your concern and it wasn’t until I turned 45 that I made the decision to date seriously. It’s not just about how much money you make but if you’ve made investments, you have a good amount of savings and if you can handle life should you lose your job or your tax bracket changes. For me to feel confident in these spaces, it took me until I was about 40 — and then I wanted to enjoy it as a single man for a few years. Sue me.”

4. Creede. 43. Engaged. “My now-fiancée and I are both entrepreneurs. Anyone who’s one knows that it takes a lot of sacrifice. When I realized that I wanted her to be my life mate, I took a couple of years to invest into her company. Now that it is where it needs to be, I feel like we are both ready for marriage. I didn’t want to just have my finances in a good place — I wanted to be where we both weren’t stressed out and the moment that I knew that she was ‘the one,’ that’s when I made the decision to financially pour into her. By the way, she wanted that over an expensive engagement ring which further confirmed how much I wanted her to be my wife. She’s financially savvy just like I am.”

5. Faraji. 50. Married. “These kids know nothing about reciprocity. If you really believe that marriage is about partnership and two people building something wonderful together — get married early. There is nothing wrong with that. But yes, if you want a ready-made financial situation, these ladies are going to have to wait. Rome wasn’t built in a day and a man’s financial stability wasn’t either.

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It was former President of the United States, John Adams who once said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence” — and the fact here is, if you want to well-off man, he’s probably not gonna be that straight out of college or even at 35.

Either wait or adjust.

Yep, talk about a real reality check.

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