Stick A Fork In It, It's Done - Middle Class America (2015, percentage)

[BugsyPal]

According to Pew research the middle-class in America is no longer the majority.


Middle-class families, pillar of the American dream, are no longer in the majority, study finds - LA Times


The middle class no longer dominates in the U.S. - Dec. 9, 2015

[lieqiang]

Interesting article, thanks.

From the graph they have in the second link it appears to be a relatively steady trend over the last 45 years going from 61% to 50% being middle class. Also interesting is percentage of people in upper class is growing a lot faster than number of people in lower class.

I ran their calculator, we were upper class in our working days but are now middle class in retirement. Downward spiral!

[mathjak107]

middle class incomes and middle class lifestyles are very different and are geographically dependent

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by lieqiang

Interesting article, thanks.

From the graph they have in the second link it appears to be a relatively steady trend over the last 45 years going from 61% to 50% being middle class. Also interesting is percentage of people in upper class is growing a lot faster than number of people in lower class.

I ran their calculator, we were upper class in our working days but are now middle class in retirement. Downward spiral!

This is normal, and has always been. I think a lot of it has to do with people who fell from middle to lower in the recession, then leap-frogged into upper when they got a high paying job in 2013-15 during the recovery. I know of many cases where that happened. The last 7-8 years have been a roller coaster for many of us.

[Den0190]

Good.

Everyone pushed out of the middle class deserved it for not pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and learning a trade.

[Vision67]

Middle class status depends a whole lot on where you live.

For example, $50K per year in San Francisco puts you into near poverty, but that same income in Amarillo Texas is a good living.

That's why lots of people move to lower COL areas upon retirement. SS pays the same no matter where you live.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Vision67

Middle class status depends a whole lot on where you live.

For example, $50K per year in San Francisco puts you into near poverty, but that same income in Amarillo Texas is a good living.

That's why lots of people move to lower COL areas upon retirement. SS pays the same no matter where you live.

Yes, it shows $42k for family of 3 as middle class, that would be hard to live on in Seattle, never mind San Francisco. Upper, at 125k is less than the median income in some suburban cities east of Seattle, and seems more like middle class.

[Serious Conversation]

I think it's pitiful that $24k for a single individual is middle income. Even in a cheap area with little or no debt, that's pretty much a hand to mouth existence.

[505HPC6Z06]

The percentage of people in upper class is growing faster than number of people in lower class. Should it be easy to tell if someones glass half empty or half full based on their comments after reading that article?

[Troyfan]

I haven't read it in detail. But it sounds like good news! First, the middle class has shrunk because the upper class has grown. Second, all classes have experienced income gains since 1971.

I can't find anything wrong with that picture. But, it would have been even better had the people who went from the middle to the upper class were replaced by people moving from the lower to the middle class. According to the study this didn't happen.

Even the lower class' income has grown by 20 - 30% since 1971. They are better off than ever. Their income today would probably have earned them middle-class status in 1971. And the middle's class income today would have probably qualified them for upper class status in 1971.

Things are getting better for everyone. It's getting better faster for those who are near the top and this naturally excites jealousy. But reflection reveals that their success has not come at our expense.