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

FAQs

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

Key Findings. In a large U.S. city, a middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000. The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590.

As of 2024, the minimum annual income needed to be considered middle class in Washington State is $73,997 for a family of four. This figure places Washington among the top 10 states with the highest middle-class income thresholds in the nation.

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.

The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households that earn between two-thirds and double the median U.S. household income, which was $65,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Using Pew's yardstick, middle income is made up of people who make between $43,350 and $130,000.

“A salary range of $80,001 to $95,000 is more reasonable for living comfortably, this aligns more closely with the reality in high-cost living areas.”

Based on that number, if you earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, you qualify as middle class. Around half of Americans fall into the middle-class category as of 2021, according to the Pew Research Center, but the numbers have been shrinking over time, down from 61% in 1971.

In 2021, the median household income is roughly $68,000. An upper class income is usually considered at least 50% higher than the median household income. Therefore, an upper class income in America is $100,000 and higher. However, an upper class income also depends on where you live.

Typical professions for this class include psychologists, professors, accountants, architects, urban planners, engineers, economists, pharmacists, executive assistants, physicians, optometrists, dentists, and lawyers.

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.

Is $30000 a year considered middle class? ›

Statisticians say middle class is a household income between $25,000 and $100,000 a year. Anything above $100,000 is deemed “upper 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.

The data used in the study analyzed the cost of living in each city as of 2022. For California cities like Los Angeles, Berkeley and San Diego, a single person must make more than $76,000 to “live comfortably,” the data shows.

That's about 54% higher than the median income for all U.S. households, which was $74,750. In 2021, the estimated median household income in Seattle was $110,800. The median is the midway point, meaning half the households earn more and half earn less.

What are the median and average incomes in Seattle? The average annual household income in Seattle is $144,955, while the median household income sits at $105,391 per year. Residents aged 25 to 44 earn $122,089, while those between 45 and 64 years old have a median wage of $119,357.