What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America – 2024 Study (2024)

FAQs

What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America – 2024 Study? ›

What is the average middle class income? In 2024, a large U.S. city's middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000, with the median household income across all 345 cities at $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590, SmartAsset noted.

In 2022, an annual salary of $50,099 was considered the bottom threshold for the middle class, according to GOBankingRates.

The Bottom Line

There is no official financial standard for what constitutes middle class. For most it's more about a standard of living—including owning a home, being able to afford to pay for a college education for your kids, and having enough disposable income to take a family vacation.

The widening of the income gap and the shrinking of the middle class has led to a steady decrease in the share of U.S. aggregate income held by middle-class households. In 1970, adults in middle-income households accounted for 62% of aggregate income, a share that fell to 42% in 2020.

In Georgia, the minimum annual income needed to qualify as middle class in 2024 is $65,364 for a family of four, according to Consumer Affairs. According to census data, this figure is slightly lower than the national median household income of $70,784 in 2021.

The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590. On a state level, it takes the most money to be middle class in New Jersey. A household making between $64,224 and $192,692 would be considered middle class on a state level.

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.

Middle-class persons commonly have a comfortable standard of living, significant economic security, considerable work autonomy and rely on their expertise to sustain themselves. Members of the middle class belong to diverse groups which overlap with each other.

Middle-class values refer to the set of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that are associated with the middle class in society. These values often include hard work, education, financial stability, social respectability, and adherence to societal norms.

A growing number of middle-class families are struggling to afford the basics of housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare. Many in America's middle class are feeling less prosperous than in generations past.

How is the middle class changing? ›

The middle class, once the economic stratum of a clear majority of American adults, has steadily contracted in the past five decades. The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.

One commonly used definition from the Pew Research Center sets a middle-class income between two-thirds and twice the national median income, or $67,819 to $203,458 for a family of four in 2022. Most Americans consider the lower end of that range, $75,000 and $100,000, to be middle class, according to the Post poll.

The new edition of Middle-Class Meltdown in America: Causes, Consequences, and Remedies tells the story of the struggling American middle class by weaving together sociological and economical research, personalized portraits and examples, and a profusion of current data illustrating significant social, economic, and ...

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.

In California, the middle-class household income ranges between $61,270 to $183,810, a nearly 50% increase from where it stood in 2012 when it was $40,933 to $122,800.

What is the average middle class income? In 2024, a large U.S. city's middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000, with the median household income across all 345 cities at $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590, SmartAsset noted.

Many have graduate degrees with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly exceed $100,000, with some smaller one-income earners household having incomes in the high 5-figure range. "The upper middle class has grown...and its composition has changed.

Upper Class Is Relative To The Median

In 2022, the national median household income is around $75,000, up from $68,000 in 2021. Therefore, as a whole, the typical upper-class household in the new decade has a median household income of over $130,000. $130,000 is a good household income amount.

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.