How much do you have to earn to be considered middle class in MN?

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(FOX9) – A new study looks at how much a household must earn to be considered middle class in Minnesota.

Background

In its analysis, GOBankingRate looked at what “middle class” means in each of the fifty states.

The website aligned its definition of “middle class” with that of the Pew Research Center at two-thirds to twice the median income.

The results

In Minnesota, GOBankingRate found that the average income is $84,313.

That means you would have to earn between $56,208 and $168,626 to be considered middle class in Minnesota, according to their definition.

Context

GOBankingRates is a personal finance website that appears to market a wide range of financial products.

Companies often post surveys and articles as a form of marketing, to give their business more legitimacy and position the company as an expert in a particular field. For the most part, it’s a good idea to take most “surveys” and “studies” from most companies with a grain of salt.

In this case, GOBankingRate uses data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, which is reliable data. But there’s a problem.

Dig deeper

Data from 2022 was used for the study. The US Census Bureau even has newer data for 2023 on its site.

According to that data, Minnesota’s median household income is slightly higher, at $85,086. This obviously does not change the range much. Using 2023 figures, Minnesota’s middle class range under the Pew definition would be between $56,724 and $170,172.

Looking at Census Bureau data, we can also see how much the middle class has changed over the past decade.

Minnesota middle class

2013

• Median household income: $60,702
• Mid-range range: between $40,468 and $121,404

2018

• Median income: $70,313
• Mid-range range: between $46,875 and $140,626

2023

• Median income: $85,086
• Mid-range range: between $56,724 and $170,172