If You Make Less Money Than This, You're Officially Middle Class

According to a project by the Institute for Policy Studies, "The United States exhibits wider disparities of wealth between rich and poor than any other major developed nation." This trend was particularly exaggerated during the Covid-19 pandemic. To offset the negative impacts of briefly shutting down the entire U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to record low levels. At the same time, the federal government issued unprecedented stimulus such as direct-mailing thousands of dollars to taxpayers, enhanced unemployment benefits, and making business loans that were eligible for forgiveness. 

In the post-pandemic years, the value of assets like stocks and real estate soared, making the already-rich even richer. For example, the combined wealth of America's richest 12 billionaires jumped a whopping 193% between March 2020 and December 2024, according to Forbes. But to be fair, while Covid-19 supercharged wealth inequality, the size of the middle class had already been vanishing for decades. In 1971, 61% of Americans were middle class versus just 51% in 2023. As it turns out, being labeled middle class is hardly something to be ashamed of. On the contrary, households can earn a nationwide average of up to $169,800 annually and still be considered middle class, per the Pew Research Center.

When determining if you're in the middle class, both your geographical location and the size of your household will effect the outcome. Typically, a household is defined as having three people. That's rounded up from the true average household size of 2.5 people. If your household has more than three people, the income threshold for being middle class will be higher, whereas the opposite is true for smaller households and single earners. 

Equally important to household size is the cost of living where you reside. The nationwide average for middle-class status is a minimum household income of $56,600 and the aforementioned maximum annual income of $169,800. However, in Jackson, Tennessee, an area with a low cost of living, a household only needs to earn $49,200 to be considered middle class. If that Jackson, Tennessee household earns approximately $159,000 annually, that's enough income to join the upper class.

At the other end of the spectrum, residents of California's pricey San Francisco Bay area need to earn a household income of $66,700 to crack into the middle class. Likewise, those bay area residents will remain in the middle class until their household income exceeds approximately $200,200 annually.

Now that we've covered some of the highest, lowest, and average middle class household incomes, let's take a peek at how those numbers change for single Americans. In California's expensive San Francisco Bay area, a single earner needs to haul in between $38,600 and $115,600 to be considered middle class. Alternatively, the state of Tennessee is considered one of the cheapest states to retire because of its low cost of living and no state income tax. In Jackson, Tennessee, a single person will be considered middle class with an approximate annual income between $30,000 and $90,000.

To recap, the nationwide threshold between middle and upper class for a household of three is $169,800 annual income. For a single person, the nationwide stepping point from middle to upper class happens around $102,800 of income per year. In spite of its bourgeois connotation, middle class isn't at all a bad place to find oneself based on those very respectable levels of income.

If your income places you near the upper or lower limits of middle class as illustrated in this article, the good news is that you can get a definitive answer easily enough. The Pew Research Center provides a handy calculator to establish whether you're in the lower, middle, or upper class based on your precise income, location, and household size.