Meet the American middle class

Juliana Kaplan,Madison HoffMay 1, 2022, 17:41 IST

The middle class has seen their income grow, but their ranks have shrunk.The Good Brigade/Getty Images

The middle class is often a topic of discussion among politicians and economists.
But who makes up the middle class? It's a group that's been shrinking over the decades.

If you've listened to any politician — or just President Joe Biden's speeches — you've heard about the middle class.

Indeed, most Americans have said that they're part of the middle class. A 2018 Northwestern Mutual study of over 2,000 adults found that 68% of American adults considered themselves part of the middle class — but, as of 2018, just about 52% were middle-class, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of income trends.

So who is in the middle class? Broadly, Pew Research Center defines middle-class households as making two-thirds to double America's median income. That adds up to an income range of about $30,000 to $90,000 for single Americans in 2020 dollars. But there are other ways out there that the middle class could be defined, as seen in a Brookings analysis of 12 definitions — including Pew's.

Here's how the middle class has been faring in America.

The typical middle-class American makes between about $30,000 to $90,000

The middle class has been shrinking

Men are more likely than women to be part of the middle-class — and white Americans were more likely to be middle-class than Black and Hispanic adults

The middle class held $39.25 trillion, just 27.6% of the country's wealth, in the last quarter of 2021

Most people in the middle class didn't see their finances get worse during the early pandemic

PeopleImages/Getty

According to a January 2021 survey of US adults from Pew, roughly a third of middle-income respondents said that their and their family's financial circumstances were actually better than they were the year before. Almost half of middle-income respondents said their finances were about the same.

According to Federal Reserve Data, the 50%-90% percentile of Americans saw their collective wealth dip a bit in the first quarter of 2020 to about $31 trillion — but it grew in the second quarter, and has continued growing since. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, that group held about $39 trillion.

According to a recent Gallup survey, 39% of those considered middle income by Gallup — those with an annual household income of $40,000 to $99,999 — said their own financial situation is improving. Although that percentage is higher than those considered lower income, this is also a smaller share than in 2021 when 48% of middle income respondents reported this.

Middle- and lower-income Americans are also feeling the impact of rising prices and inflation on their wallets, according to a Gallup poll.

The middle class has trillions in debt

And, like many Americans, the middle class is grappling with the burden of student debt

The US's shrinking middle class is small compared to other countries

As the middle class shrinks, each new generation has been less likely to join it

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