What is "Middle Class"?

[SadieDog]

I'd like to know too infact I asked this question 2 times yesterday. No one would answer.

I read that and was waiting for someone to answer you as well.

 

[barkley]

from a financial perspective i see 'middle class' as those who can provide for their/dependants basic needs and perhaps have some discretionary income to spend on wants and desires (though i think that is shrinking for most in this category due to increasing expenses for necessities).

i agree with some who state that the middle class is one of the most severly impacted by current economic trends. rising costs for health care, heating, foods and transportation have severly impacted their incomes while upper incomers have not felt the pinch so severly (a much smaller percentage of their incomes go to these costs) and lower incomers can and do benefit from eligibility to subsidies that offset some of these costs (most utility and housing programs for low income are based on a percentage of the person's income or grant so even if those costs go up the percentage remains fixed, public transportation costs have not gone up nearly so much as driving a private vehical, health care is a basic free or very low fee provision within public welfare programs for low income family units). 'middle' earners are also more severly impacted by rising costs for childcare (larger percentage of their income goes to this than higher earners, lower earners qualify for subsidized) and we see more children of middle income students ineligible for the college grants, loans and fee waivers lower income student children receive so parents that want to help out on that are looking to higher than traditional costs.

 

[HelenePA]

Last year we made just under 40k but were still able to get 44$ from the EIC so that means the govt consideres us Low income right?? but in my area 40k a year is GOOD money. My house cost 32k (i can sell for almost 60k 3 years later which makes me laugh) for 4b/2b full attic full basement and a yard. 150k jobs are unheard of in my area which I am happy about. I dont want to live in a high cost area of living. I live where I live. I have clean air, low crime (what crime does happen is stupid and drugs) I am not afraid to let my kids out to play alone this includes my 2 yr old. I would hate living in a city. I still laugh that people would classify me as "poor" or low income mostly because of the EIC credit and only making 40k a year. Then I hear about people saying they are "just getting by on 150k a year??" HOW HOW HOW HOW?? I can make it on 40k a year but they can't at 150K?? I just dont get it.

 

[MAKmom]

Middle class is skilled labor, professionals & management making 30,000 to 100,000 a year.

 

[melly]

Since I fell in both classes in my life I tend to vehemently disagree.

There are people who work endless hours and still don't have enough money to survive. I've been there.

Then there are people who work less than 40 hours a week and have lots of extra money and no debt. I've been there, too.

No way they would be considered the same.

Of course they are considered the same. They are people. No one is a better "class" of person just because they earn more.

Added to this no one has yet put a convincing argument against one of my points. That is if you HAVE to work for a living then you are working class. Theres no argument against it, by definition you are working class because you have to work. You cant just decide to not work.

 

[Angelhalo]

Last year we made just under 40k but were still able to get 44$ from the EIC so that means the govt consideres us Low income right?? but in my area 40k a year is GOOD money. My house cost 32k (i can sell for almost 60k 3 years later which makes me laugh) for 4b/2b full attic full basement and a yard. 150k jobs are unheard of in my area which I am happy about. I dont want to live in a high cost area of living. I live where I live. I have clean air, low crime (what crime does happen is stupid and drugs) I am not afraid to let my kids out to play alone this includes my 2 yr old. I would hate living in a city. I still laugh that people would classify me as "poor" or low income mostly because of the EIC credit and only making 40k a year. Then I hear about people saying they are "just getting by on 150k a year??" HOW HOW HOW HOW?? I can make it on 40k a year but they can't at 150K?? I just dont get it.

There is NO WAY we'd be able to make it here if DH and I only made $40k each a year. We could barely even afford an apartment for that much. It's just a costly area to live in. Be we love it here. We're near the beach, the air is clean, it's small enough to be considered a small town, but big enough that we don't feel like we're in the stix and we don't have to drive to the next town to buy things. I think it's awesome that you love where you live and are happy and content with what you make. In DH's field, he'd be getting robbed if he were making less than $75,000 per year, but that's because of the field he works in.

 

[luvmy3]

Last year we made just under 40k but were still able to get 44$ from the EIC so that means the govt consideres us Low income right?? but in my area 40k a year is GOOD money. My house cost 32k (i can sell for almost 60k 3 years later which makes me laugh) for 4b/2b full attic full basement and a yard. 150k jobs are unheard of in my area which I am happy about. I dont want to live in a high cost area of living. I live where I live. I have clean air, low crime (what crime does happen is stupid and drugs) I am not afraid to let my kids out to play alone this includes my 2 yr old. I would hate living in a city. I still laugh that people would classify me as "poor" or low income mostly because of the EIC credit and only making 40k a year. Then I hear about people saying they are "just getting by on 150k a year??" HOW HOW HOW HOW?? I can make it on 40k a year but they can't at 150K?? I just dont get it.

It all depends on where you live. Although $150,000 is alot wher you are, its about average where I am. My house cost 7 times more than yours when we bought it. We were lucky we bought when we did, it was right before the housing market sky rocketed. I do not live in a big city, but I do live in a high cost of living area. We have no choice, this is where dh's job is (an hour away).
Please don't forget that the gov't takes almost 30% of dh's salary so that 150 becomes much less in our high cost of living area. And sure we do our standard deductions but we get screwed on many because dh makes too much.
There are many reasons why someone who makes 150,000can just get by.

 

[Angelhalo]

It all depends on where you live. Although $150,000 is alot wher you are, its about average where I am. My house cost 7 times more than yours when we bought it. We were lucky we bought when we did, it was right before the housing market sky rocketed. I do not live in a big city, but I do live in a high cost of living area. We have no choice, this is where dh's job is (an hour away).
Please don't forget that the gov't takes almost 30% of dh's salary so that 150 becomes much less in our high cost of living area. And sure we do our standard deductions but we get screwed on many because dh makes too much.
There are many reasons why someone who makes 150,000can just get by.

Tell me about it. The house we're looking at right now, is 9 times the amount of Helene's, and it's CHEAP compared to most in the area. Our last house in NC cost $154,000, we really miss those days, but we LOVE where we live now.

 

[freckles and boo]

My community is considered middle class. Median household income here is $57,000. Median purchase price for a home is $210,000. We paid half that for our home eleven years ago and make considerably more than the median income. The majority of the housing stock is older, solid brick houses with three bedrooms and full basements. Many, many of our neighbors live well "below their means" in these older homes without everything HGTV delusionally tells us we must have. We don't have granite countertops and maple cabinets, but somehow we are rather happy. For my family, being middle class means that our income exceeds our outflow by a comfortable margin and that allows us to enjoy our lives.

 

[luvmy3]

We live in a very nice development of split level homes. We don't have granite counter tops, trex decks and other things. They are building brand new $700,000 homes in the new development right next to ours. Our homes look like sheds compared to these things But, we are happy and comfortable financially. Hopefully we will stay that way.
I agree with the previous poster, we are middle class because we make enough to pay for our basic needs, we have extra for some wants ,we have extra to plan for our future and our children's.Middle class can be any income that allows you to do those things in the area in which you live.

 

[Robinrs]

Well excuse me.

The only reason I did the poll is because recently I keep seeing people putting a price tag on Middle Class. I DO NOT, but I see other people doing it over and over and over again so I was curious as to what people's idea of Middle class actually is. If soooo many people, including myself, feel that you can't put a price tag on it, then why do so many people keep using specific dollar amounts as examples of middle class? that was basically the point.

You're excused...

The reason I wrote this is because you mentioned in another thread that your parents were "wealthy". The poll reflected that you equated a price tag with class. Thanks for the edit and the explanation.