How much money you need to make to be middle class in the 10 biggest U.S. metro areas (2024)

FAQs

How much money you need to make to be middle class in the 10 biggest U.S. metro areas? ›

If you live in the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell, Georgia metro area, you need to make between $57k and $170k to be considered middle class.

The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households that earn between two-thirds and double the median U.S. household income, which was $65,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 21 Using Pew's yardstick, middle income is made up of people who make between $43,350 and $130,000.

Middle Class Defined by Region. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income in 2021 was $70,784. So American families earning between $47,189 and $141,568 are technically in the middle class, according to the Pew Research Center's definition. However, other factors must be considered.

In a large U.S. city, a middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000. The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590.

What is the average middle class income? In 2024, a large U.S. city's middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000, with the median household income across all 345 cities at $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590, SmartAsset noted.

Top earners across the United States earn at least six figures, with an average income of over $160,000 for those in the top 10% in 2021. Earners in the top 1% must make $1 million per year in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington.

The average salary across the United States sits at $63,795, per the Social Security Administration. So an income of $300,000 per year — more than four times that figure — is by most standards a great salary for a single person in 2024.

The salary you need to be considered middle class in every U.S. state—it's close to $200,000 in 2 of them. In the U.S., whether you're considered middle class or not may depend on where you live. In some states, you can earn over $150,000 and still be considered middle class.

Am I middle or upper class? ›

In the 2023 CPS ASEC data, which reports income for 2022, middle-income households with three people have incomes ranging from about $61,000 to $183,000 annually. “Lower-income” households have incomes less than $61,000, and “upper-income” households have incomes greater than $183,000.

You also need an annual household salary of at least $50,000 to be considered middle class in 17 other states, including California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Hawaii. In California, the difference is $122,000, from a salary of $61,028 on the lower end to $183,102 on the upper end.

Generally speaking, a household income of approximately $150,000-$250,000 is considered upper middle class.

However, new GOBankingRates research shows that in some major U.S. cities, an annual income of $150,000 is only enough to qualify as “lower middle class.” This is especially pronounced in two Northern California cities and Arlington, Virginia.

In California, the middle-class household income ranges between $ 61,270 to $183,810, a nearly 50% increase from where it stood in 2012 when it was $40,933 to $122,800.

Middle-class households have an income that is two-thirds to double that of the U.S. median household income, after it has been adjusted for household size, which in 2021 was $70,784, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

There's no single definition of “middle class.” According to the Pew Research Center, middle class households have an income that's between two-thirds and twice the U.S. median household income of $70,784. (A $75,000 salary falls easily within this range.)

However, new GOBankingRates research shows that in some major U.S. cities, an annual income of $150,000 is only enough to qualify as “lower middle class.” This is especially pronounced in two Northern California cities and Arlington, Virginia.

Statisticians say middle class is a household income between $25,000 and $100,000 a year. Anything above $100,000 is deemed “upper middle class”.

Where you rank by income. According to the Census Bureau's Income in the United States: 2022 report, the median household income is $74,580 (a 2.3% decline from 2021), while household income levels for each class level are as follows: Lower class: less than or equal to $30,000. Lower-middle class: $30,001 – $58,020.