Are you in the middle class, 2023?

[DLgal]

This debate comes up over and over again on these boards. Here is the latest data on the topic:

https://digg.com/finance/link/the-d...can-middle-class-households-mapped-aarOMGE2vK

Find your city. Are you, in fact, in the middle class?

As of right now, we are no longer middle class. Although it doesn't feel that way as we still are nowhere close to home ownership. I've always sort of used that as a metric for defining middle class. At least, that SHOULD be what it means.

 

[leebee]

We are middle class for our state, but I can't seem to find a place to search for cities. I don't thing Bangor will be listed anyhow, hahaha!

 

[1420Elexismc]

Technically-in between median and upper middle limits…but it sure doesn’t feel like it sometimes in CT lol

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

For the metropolitan area we’re in, we’re upper middle class according to that table. It definitely doesn’t feel that way to me.

 

[kerry1379]

Is this for single, no kids? I looked but didn't see what the qualifiers were. I heard on the radio just a few weeks ago that HUD for Denver released their numbers for what is considered "low income." SIngle, no kids=$62,000/year (which seems close to the $55,000 listed on this site for middle lower limit) and family of four, dual income=$96,000. No wonder it is so hard to live here. Cost of living is ridiculous.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Those are absurdly low numbers which may appease the pride of hard working people but net take home is a fraction of that. If you dig in further with taxes, childcare, healthcare payments + copay + deductibles for those non-Cadillac plans normal people get, commute expenses & the whims of officials with pricing you are drowning nevermind if you have a child in college. The ranges are delusional, the people who came up with these numbers must be on something and it must be the same something the people who do the numbers for living expenses for Social Security take.

More interesting is the question, what does it mean to be middle class?

 

[TwoMisfits]

100% middle class, before even considering family size effects (if they did)...

 

[DLgal]

We are middle class for our state, but I can't seem to find a place to search for cities. I don't thing Bangor will be listed anyhow, hahaha!

Keep scrolling down the article. It lists 7 pages worth of cities.

 

[DLgal]

Is this for single, no kids? I looked but didn't see what the qualifiers were. I heard on the radio just a few weeks ago that HUD for Denver released their numbers for what is considered "low income." SIngle, no kids=$62,000/year (which seems close to the $55,000 listed on this site for middle lower limit) and family of four, dual income=$96,000. No wonder it is so hard to live here. Cost of living is ridiculous.

I'm pretty sure these are "household" numbers. I think that is defined as at least 3 people living together, sharing expenses.

 

[DLgal]

Those are absurdly low numbers which may appease the pride of hard working people but net take home is a fraction of that. If you dig in further with taxes, childcare, healthcare payments + copay + deductibles for those non-Cadillac plans normal people get, commute expenses & the whims of officials with pricing you are drowning nevermind if you have a child in college. The ranges are delusional, the people who came up with these numbers must be on something and it must be the same something the people who do the numbers for living expenses for Social Security take.

More interesting is the question, what does it mean to be middle class?

I agree. But this is how the "middle class" has always been defined. It's a function of the cost of living, overall, for a specific area. It means "this is enough to get by." Middle class means you aren't living in poverty or with excess. You make too much for government welfare programs but too little to be truly thriving in most places.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Wow for our city - with our combined income, we are above middle class. I never would have thought that.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

We are above the upper limit but that doesn't surprise me. When we were crossing the upper income limit for our area is where things seemed to get pretty easy financially.

As of right now, we are no longer middle class. Although it doesn't feel that way as we still are nowhere close to home ownership. I've always sort of used that as a metric for defining middle class. At least, that SHOULD be what it means.

Probably have to include cost of living to really get a feel for that. It seems like that varies a lot throughout the country and income doesn't always follow.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I agree. But this is how the "middle class" has always been defined. It's a function of the cost of living, overall, for a specific area. It means "this is enough to get by." Middle class means you aren't living in poverty or with excess. You make too much for government welfare programs but too little to be truly thriving in most places.

Not sure about that, while I know that it is treated a certain way now I'd submit there is a distinct idea of the trappings of the middle class and we all have an idea in our heads of what that means.

About articles like this, not directed at you OP:

Seems to me the people we vote for didn't like the numbers as US wealth kept shrinking so they slid the whole thing down. These days the impoverished are homeless, the lower is called middle because they are not homeless, the middle is called upper, and upper are still upper except now there is a pseudo battle between the millionaires and billionaires, which is hilarious.

So much is spin it's just silly & the trouble with it is the people struggling to get by aren't getting appropriate support from society because the someone making up the absurd charts is saying, "everyone here is fine, nothing to see, move along," and the consequences are devastating. Not good at all, makes me sad when I think of how many 'you are doing fine in the middle' people are going to a food pantry to survive. Reality stands in stark contrast to this accumulation of feel good numbers that the people we vote for can slide into their grandstanding.

 

[luv2cheer92]

There aren't any cities on there within 45 minutes of me, and I know using the closest city would be wildly inaccurate. But based on what I'm seeing and estimating, with my single income, no kids, I would be on the upper end of middle class, which is where I would suspect.

 

[TippyThomas]

Nope, still poor.

 

[soccerdad72]

No, we’re not

 

[Living42Day]

I'm old fashioned and won't post our salary info on the internet, but the chart was interesting to look at and seemed about normal for various areas in the U.S. that I am familiar with.

 

[DLgal]

Probably have to include cost of living to really get a feel for that. It seems like that varies a lot throughout the country and income doesn't always follow.

Well, the median cost of a home in my city is $1.2 million dollars. The median salary here is $90,000. Doesn't seem to match up.

 

[disneychrista]

My income is below the lower limit for Middle Class for California. But probably above for my city, which is a lower income rural area.

 

[disneychrista]

I'm old fashioned and won't post our salary info on the internet, but the chart was interesting to look at and seemed about normal for various areas in the U.S. that I am familiar with.

Don't work for the government then. Anyone can look up my exact salary & benefits.