To agree with you, It's even more complex than even you outline, too. Wealth is, imo, a relative profit and cost of living expense calculation, regardless of how much you make. Ultimately it doesn't matter where you live or how much you make, you can be living paycheck to paycheck in almost any scenario.

There are definitely subtleties, like how feasible it would be for you to reduce expenses while keeping your income the same. Life.. gets complicated.