middle class

[Texasturkey]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

Cerritos and Irvine are both considered upper-middle class and both have a high foreign population.

This is an older post. Cerritos and Irvine have high Asian populations. I mentioned Fullerton on a previous post.

[kcnativnla]

[quote=Mike121;5162093]Okay, I'll bite. Let me declare some definitions.

The median household income in California is about $58k. So I define a neighborhood where most people make more than $58k is upper-middle class. I also define a neighborhood where most households make more than $100k as rich..."

Making over $100k in California is not "rich" - especially if you have a family. I can attest to that.

[ShortSaleDiva]

Someone is stuck in the 50's and 60’s!

[JohnG72]

Old topic.

But.

$58K for a single person in LA is middle class. Can afford a decent small apartment in an ok area, particularly if schools are bad or mediocre(Lakewood, Pasadena, nicer AA areas, etc). $1000-1100 a mo for rent. Also can afford a condo in said areas if enough money is saved away.

$58K for a family of four is lower middle class in LA...what I typically call blue collar. Most likely restricted to renting a small house(2 bd/1ba) or a newer townhome of similiar size in a blue collar area that is probably safe, but has craptacular schools. Rents for that type of place should run $1200-1500/mo. Communities that come to mind are North Hills, Arleta, Panorama City, Pico Rivera, El Monte, South Gate, parts of Long Beach, etc. TONS of these type communities in LA area, almost all are Latino majority with Asian minorities and some have caucasian minorities, typically seniors still left from when the neighborhood was legitimately middle class.

I'd define the following for LA area for a family of four:

$50-75K = Lower middle class
$76-130K = Middle class
$130-200K = Upper middle class
$200K+ = Rich

I'll note a couple more things. The above could change particularly for the middle and upper middle class as home prices drop. If homes in LA county drop another 30-40% as I've read may happen over the next five years, houses will become affordable in nicer areas for middle and upper middle class. Currently the middle and upper middle class families of four are priced out of areas such as Culver City, Sherman Oaks, Burbank etc. which is beyond preposterous. I anticipate that changing and people that have jobs will be able to enjoy a bit better standard of living. This phenomenon is pretty much restricted to LA, SD, and OC I think.

I'll also note that many...maybe even most...in the upper middle class income range I proposed are beyond nuts with their spending habits. Living paycheck to paycheck at that income range in LA is just plain ^$%& nuts. $50K cars aren't required, private schools aren't required, purchasing a home isn't required....etc. But most people I know who live with this income just seem to have no clue whatsoever what living within their means involves and want to live the same lifestyle that income would afford in the middle of the country.