According to Pew Research Center, the middle class has been shrinking over the past 50 years as more Americans have moved into higher or lower income brackets.
The middle-class percentage of the population is still roughly 50%, where it has been since 2011, according to the most recent data from 2021. Prior to that year, the percentage of Americans in the middle class had been steadily declining since reaching a high of 61% in 1971.
According to Pew, those who make between two-thirds and twice the median American household income, which was $70,784 in 2021, should be considered middle class. Accordingly, American households making between $47,189 and $141,568 are considered to be middle-class.
But other factors like family size and location can change what middle class looks like for you. Here are the income thresholds for the middle class in the 20 most populous U.S. metros:
Remember, this is based on just one definition of the middle class. There are other statistical-based definitions of the middle class and an even broader list of more anecdotal definitions.
In general, anyone who isn’t living “paycheck to paycheck” but couldn’t necessarily stop working tomorrow and be financially secure in the long run could be considered middle class.
According to Gallup polling, at least half of the adult population in the United States has consistently identified as a middle or upper-middle class since 2002. Respondents are asked whether they identify as upper, upper-middle, middle, working, or lower class in the poll, which does not define the middle class.
Though the share of upper-middle and middle-class-identifying adults was higher before the Great Recession — around 63% of adults in 2003 — it never fell below 50%, and it still hasn’t even after the brief but severe recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of April 2022, 52% of adults consider themselves middle or upper-middle-class. And statistically speaking, they could all be correct. But given different life situations and perceptions of wealth, there’s a good chance not everyone who feels middle class actually is, and vice-versa.
