Do you still belong to the middle class? Use this calculator to find out

(NEXSTAR) – During election season, you often hear political talking points surrounding the middle class. That might leave you wondering: are you even middle class?

More than half of American adults live in a middle-income household, according to a recent analysis from the Pew Research Center.

Pew defines a middle-income household (specifically a family of three) as one earning between $56,600 and $169,800 in 2022 dollars. Using the Department of Labor’s inflation calculator, this works out to about $60,882 and $182,646 in 2024 dollars.

However, that range will vary depending on where you live and how many people you live with.

Pew’s calculator can take that into account.

For example, let’s say you live alone near Cleveland, Ohio, which had one of the lowest barriers to breaking into the middle class, according to an analysis by SmartAsset earlier this year.

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Based on Pew Research’s latest calculator, you would need to earn just $30,090 to be considered middle class (technically, this data is based on nearby Akron). If you want to be in the upper class, you need a pre-tax income of $90,250. If there were four people in your household, the mid-range range would adjust to $60,165 and $180,400.

Both tops for Akron’s middle class rankings would be squarely in the middle class in San Francisco, California, one of the more expensive metros rated by Pew Research and SmartAsset. There, one person would be considered middle class if they earned between $38,527 and $115,580. A family of four would need a pre-tax income between $77,050 and $231,155 to maintain middle class status.

Where are you? You can use the Pew calculator below to find out:

Overall, Pew found that the share of residents living in middle-class households was lowest in San Jose, at 42%. While the majority of San Jose residents fell into that group, nearly 41% were upper class, the highest percentage among the 254 metropolitan areas analyzed by Pew.

Olympia, Washington, had the highest percentage of middle-class residents at 66%. About 20% of Olympia residents are considered lower class, while 14% are upper class.

In Bismarck, North Dakota, about 16% of adults live in lower-income households, the lowest percentage of the cities assessed. Laredo, Texas, had the largest lower-income population at 46%.

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A separate Pew Research study recently found that the share of Americans living in a middle-class household in 2023 is now 10% higher than in 1971, while the share of Americans living in lower- and higher-income households with 3% and 8% have increased. respectively.

The story continues

The personal finance site MoneyGeek assessed 600 cities to determine where the middle class has shrunk. Overall, it found that 367 cities saw a decline in the size of their middle class between 2017 and 2022.

Springdale, Arkansas, and Carmel, Indiana, saw their middle classes shrink by double digits over that five-year period. In those cities, Pew’s calculations show that one person only needs $29,648 and $30,622, respectively, to be in the middle class.

Alix Martichoux contributed to this report.

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