Here's the minimum annual income required to be 'middle class' in California in 2023 (2024)

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Here's the minimum annual income required to be 'middle class' in California in 2023? ›

A separate study by Consumer Affairs published last month tabulated the minimum annual income required for a family of four to be considered middle class in each state, and in California, that income is $69,064.

Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Washington also had a middle class annual income threshold of at least $60,000.

Middle Class Income in 2024

But data from the U.S. Census Bureau cites a different number as the average salary: just under $75,000. What does this all mean? By the Census data, it means that if you earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, you are considered middle class.

How much does an Upper Class make? As of May 22, 2024, the average annual pay for the Upper Class jobs category in the United States is $59,699 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $28.70 an hour.

In fact, as of January 1, 2024, the minimum wage for most hourly employees in California is $16.00 per hour. This is considerably higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. However, California's minimum wage system is tiered, with different rates for employers based on the number of employees.

Using Pew's income-based formula for establishing economic status, Californians would need between two-thirds and double the state's median net worth to be considered middle class. With $203,000 as the baseline, that's a net worth of between $135,333 and $406,000.

Is $40,000 a year considered middle class? According to Pew Research, a middle-class family of three makes between $56,000 and $156,000. Families of that size who bring in $40,000 a year would not be considered middle class.

Where you rank by income. According to the Census Bureau's Income in the United States: 2022 report, the median household income is $74,580 (a 2.3% decline from 2021), while household income levels for each class level are as follows: Lower class: less than or equal to $30,000. Lower-middle class: $30,001 – $58,020.

A family of four in California needs to earn nearly $70,000 annually to still be considered middle class in 2023, according to a new report by ConsumerAffairs.

Is $30000 a year considered middle class? ›

You also need an annual household salary of at least $50,000 to be considered middle class in 17 other states, including California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Hawaii.

Your household would need to earn at least $64,224 to be considered middle class in the Garden State, and earning more than $192,692 would put you in the upper class.

Lower middle class: Those in the 20th to 40th percentile of household income, between $28,008 and $55,000. Middle class: Those in the 40th to 60th percentile of household income, ranging from $55,001 to $89,744. Upper middle class: Households in the 60th to 80th percentile, with incomes between $89,745 and $149,131.

With New Jersey ranking as the top state to make the most money to be considered middle class, other states ranking in the top five requiring salaries exceeding $50,000 to be in this category include Maryland ($63,321) and Massachusetts ($62,986), Hawaii ($61,633) and California ($61,028).

In the New York/Newark/Jersey City, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania metro area, families making between $56,000 and $169,000 are considered middle class. The range in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim, California, falls between $55,000 and $165,000.

There's no single definition of “middle class.” According to the Pew Research Center, middle class households have an income that's between two-thirds and twice the U.S. median household income of $70,784. (A $75,000 salary falls easily within this range.)

You also need an annual household salary of at least $50,000 to be considered middle class in 17 other states, including California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Hawaii. In California, the difference is $122,000, from a salary of $61,028 on the lower end to $183,102 on the upper end.