New data shows what Americans now need to be "middle class" (2024)

FAQs

What is considered middle class in 2024 in the USA? ›

But now, in 2024, many Americans who fit squarely the middle class income range (defined by Pew Research Center, about $52,000 to $156,000 for a household of three) are feeling less financially secure than in years past. One thing that hasn't changed: We all want to be middle class.

The share of Americans who are in the middle class is smaller than it used to be. In 1971, 61% of Americans lived in middle-class households. By 2023, the share had fallen to 51%, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data. As a result, Americans are more apart than before financially.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Fifty-four percent of Americans identify as part of the middle class, including 39% who say they are “middle class” and 15% “upper-middle class.” Another 31% consider themselves “working class” and 12% “lower class.” Just 2% of U.S. adults characterize themselves as “upper class.”

Different income barometers describe the middle class as having income from $50,000 to $150,000 or, in some instances, $42,000 to $125,000. Other measures of middle class set the upper-income mark at $250,000.

Lower class: less than or equal to $30,000. Lower-middle class: $30,001 – $58,020. Middle class: $58,021 – $94,000. Upper-middle class: $94,001 – $153,000.

As of 2022 (the most recent Census data), the average median household income in the U.S. was $73,914, meaning the national range for the middle class is roughly $49,271 to $147,828.

One way some researchers divide individuals into economic classes is by looking at their incomes. From that data, they split earners into different classes: poor, lower-middle class, middle class, upper-middle class and wealthy.

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.

Lower class: This is defined as the bottom 20% of earners. Those in the lower class have an income at or below $28,007. Lower middle class: This is defined as individuals in the 20th to 40th percentile of household income. Earnings among this group are between $28,008 and $55,000.

“Good income is relative to the average household income in America, which is $78,000 right now.” Real median household income in the U.S. was $78,250 in 2019 and fell to $74,580 in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. "You're not a bad person. You're not a horrible income earner.

What is the top 5 income in the US? ›

the middle class | Business English

the social group that consists of well-educated people, such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers, who are neither very rich nor very poor: lower/upper middle class The upper middle class tends to go into business or the professions.

In turn, Americans who are middle class are in households making between $47,000 and $142,000 in 2021 — and updated for inflation, that lower number would be $53,000 today, said Jason Sorens, Ph.