Pew Research Center made headlines this past week with their analysis of U.S. Census data in an eye-opening 74 page study, which I read cover to cover. Their most startling finding: the middle class no longer dominates America, having decreased from 61% in 1971 to 50% today – although 120.8 million adults reside within these households and an equal amount among lower and upper income classes.
Are we under attack as middle class? Should we all panic and be outraged? Well, yes and no; let’s look at the data first…
What exactly is “middle class”? According to Pew, middle-income Americans (or as they prefer, “middle-income”) can be defined as having annual household incomes between two-thirds and double of the median national household income for three person households of $62,491, which equals $46,000-$126,000 respectively. Middle class income may also differ significantly by state (here’s an income class calculator to help determine yours!).
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