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Who Is Middle Class?
GALLERY

Who Is Middle Class?

A definition, then fifty years of it: Pew calls a household middle income if it earns two-thirds to twice the national median, adjusted for household size. By that rule the middle was 61% of adults in 1971 and about 51% now; the leavers went both ways, more up than down.

Image credit

Chart: Urbanicity (STRATIFICATION-V1), from U.S. Census Bureau / Federal Reserve / Pew Research Center tables, 2023 data, rounded - the source line is printed on the chart.

Read the evidence

  • SOURCE IT: a definition made by a research centre - what did Pew choose (two-thirds, twice, the square root) and why those numbers?
  • LOOK: find the year the middle fell below 55%. Which band grew faster, upper or lower?
  • INFER: run the wall's calculator with your own household at 1 person and at 5. Are you still the same class?
Parts & Labels
Lower
under two-thirds of the median - about $54,000 for three people in 2023
Upper
over twice
Middle
two-thirds to twice - about $54,000 to $161,000 for three
The Adjustment
income divided by the square root of household size, scaled to three

Why It Existed

The hypothesis's own instrument: 'middle class' is a ruler someone built, and the 'shrinking middle' is a fact about that ruler. Use a fixed dollar band instead and the story changes.

Daily Use

Ask Americans and about seven in ten call themselves middle class. Pew's ruler says five in ten. The ruler is a band around the median; because the median moves with the economy the band is relative - 'middle' means 'near the typical household', not 'comfortable'.
Comparison Panel
1971
61 / 14 / 25 (middle / upper / lower)
2023
51 / 19 / 30
The Fed's Survey
the median household's wealth about $193,000 in 2022 - what 'middle' owns
Interesting Facts
  • Pew's rule was first published in 2008 and has become the unofficial definition in most reporting.
  • The shrinking middle is partly a success story: the upper band grew from 14% to 19% of adults.

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