Most people have an idea of what a middle-class lifestyle looks like. Typically, most people think of the middle class household as people with good jobs, a decent house to live in, and enough money for vacations and small luxuries but not endless supplies of cash.
But how much income, exactly, would you need to be considered middle class in America? It’s pretty easy to find that out, since the U.S. Census publishes data on earnings and divides households into five quintiles.
Here’s what the Census data shows you’d need to make to be considered part of the official middle class based on your income.
If you earn this much, you’re in the middle class
According to the Census data, here’s how household income breaks down in the United States:
- Households in the lowest quintile: $30,000 or less
- Households in the second quintile: $30,001 to $58,020
- Households in the third quintile: $58,021 to $94,000
- Households in the fourth quintile: $94,001 to $153,000
- Households in the highest quintile: $153,001 or higher
To be considered middle class — since you are literally in the middle quintile with an equal percentage of households above and below you — you would need to have a household income between $58,021 and $94,000.
If your earnings fall within this range, you’re officially in the middle class in the U.S. — but, depending on where you live and how you’re spending money, this may or may not mean you feel middle class.
There’s a lot more to money management than your income
While it’s easy to see what income makes you middle class, a lot more goes into whether you feel like you fall within this class category. While your income is important in determining how you manage your personal finances and whether you can build wealth, other factors also matter a lot in terms of how your financial life works.
One of the biggest issues that can shape how you feel about your financial situation is where you live. If you make a household income of $153,001, you’re technically in the upper class. And you might feel like it if you live in West Virginia where the median household income is $51,248. But if you live in Washington, D.C., where the median income is $90,088, you probably aren’t going to feel rich with a $153,001 income.
The financial decisions you’ve already made can also impact whether you feel middle class. If you bought a huge house and are spending 45% of your income on the mortgage and other housing expenses (well above the recommended 30%), then you may feel like you’re struggling financially even if you have a comfortable middle-class income.
The bottom line is, you want to try to maximize your earnings since the more money you make, the more you have to spend and save and accomplish financial goals. But feeling middle class — or even rich — and attaining the lifestyle you want is often going to require a lot more than just earning $58,021 to $94,000.
You’ll also want to take steps like:
- Limiting your fixed expenses to no more than 50% of your income
- Saving 20% of your income for the future to provide financial security and peace of mind
- Choosing a place to live based on being to afford the essentials and a few life luxuries
If you can take these steps, you should be well on your way to setting yourself up for financial success — even if your income is above or below the range that puts you squarely in the middle class.
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