In the United States, the term middle class if often heard in the media, among politicians, economists, and others. Question: What income category is considered middle class?
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In the United States, the term middle class if often heard in the media, among politicians, economists, and others. Question: What income category is considered middle class?
I think it depends on the state you live. The cost of living in some states like California are much higher than other states. So even if you earn more in a year compared to people in other states, you’re still in the middle-class category.
Pewresearch is often cited whenever this topic comes up.
According to their analysis, “middle-income” adults in 2021 are those with an annual household income that was two-thirds to double the national median income in 2020, after incomes have been adjusted for household size, or about $52,000 to $156,000 annually in 2020 dollars for a household of three. Read more
To be middle class as a single American, you have to make about $30,000 to $90,000.
Source: Business Insider
In the simplest sense, if your median household income for 2020 was from $50,641 to $135,042, you are considered middle class, according to estimates from Wenger.
The Pew Research Center has put a financial definition to the term “middle income.” To be considered part of that group in 2021—which is synonymous with middle-class, according to Pew—a single American must have earned $30,003 to $90,010, according to a new set of reports released Wednesday.
But that range does vary by the size of the household. A three-person household must have earned $51,962 to $155,902 to be considered middle-class while a family of four must earn about $60,000 to $180,000. Read more on Fortune
The American middle class has been shrinking over the past few decades, with just over half of U.S. adults considered middle class by the Pew Research Center in 2020, compared to 61% in 1971.
Pew defines “middle class” as a person earning between two-thirds and twice the median American household income, which in 2019 was $68,703, according to the United States Census Bureau. That puts the base salary to be in the middle class just shy of $46,000. The Brookings Institute, meanwhile, considers anyone who falls within the middle three quintiles of income distribution to be middle class.
But income isn’t the only factor that is taken into account. The size of your household and where in the country you live also come into play with both Pew and Brookings when determining your economic tier.
To show where you fall economically, Grow created a calculator that takes salary, household size and financial data from nearby metropolitan areas into account to determine if you are middle class, according to three different definitions.
Are you part of the middle class? Use this calculator to find out