Are you in the middle class in your state?

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The share of Americans in the middle class is shrinking as rising costs outpace many workers' pay. While wages have grown in recent years, inflation and higher expenses for essentials like housing and groceries make it harder to maintain middle-class status.

The income needed to qualify as middle-class varies widely depending on where you live. Using wage data from 2023, we calculated the income range for each state and major city, adjusting for cost of living. See our full methodology for details.


Key insights

The median minimum income needed to be middle-class in America is $75,225.

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Massachusetts’ middle class has the highest income range in the country, earning between $109,687 and $182,812 in 2023.

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Mississippi residents have the lowest middle-class income range, at $49,712 to $82,854 in 2023.

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In three states, you need to earn more than $100,000 to be middle-class: Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New Jersey.

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Arlington, Virginia, had the highest-earning middle class of any major city in 2023, with incomes ranging from $170,004 to $283,340.

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What does it take to be middle class in each state?

From as little as $50,000 in Mississippi to more than $180,000 in Massachusetts, the incomes defining earners as middle-class vary significantly by state.

States with the highest middle-class incomes

In three states — Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New Jersey — workers had to make more than $100,000 in 2023 to be considered a part of their state’s middle class. All are located in the Northeast, where the cost of living and expenses are typically higher than in the rest of the country.

Middle-class workers earn much higher wages across the Northeast and along the West Coast than in much of the South and Midwest.

Below, we explore the five states that had the highest incomes needed to qualify for the middle class in 2023.

1. Massachusetts

Middle-class income range in 2023: $109,687 to 182,812 per year

In recent years, Massachusetts has maintained its position as a place where some of the country’s highest earners live. At the highest end of the middle class, Massachusetts workers were making upward of $180,000 in 2023 — up from $148,000 at the top end of the middle class in 2019.

That high threshold was driven by various high-paying jobs, such as those in the biotech, health care and finance sectors. Those higher wages were also necessary to keep pace with the state’s higher cost of living.

2. New Hampshire

Middle-class income range in 2023: $108,470 to $180,784 per year

Like Massachusetts, New Hampshire’s middle class earned much higher wages than the rest of the country in 2023. The state’s lowest-earning middle-class workers still brought home more than $108,000.

The Granite State, where finance, insurance and real estate rank as the largest industries, has a wide range of incomes in its middle class. The difference between the lowest and highest middle-class incomes was more than $72,000 in 2023.

3. New Jersey

Middle-class income range in 2023: $103,930 to $173,216 per year

In 2019, New Jersey had the highest minimum income needed for middle-class status. However, wages in New Jersey did not grow as quickly in the following years as in other states. Still, the lowest income in New Jersey’s middle class ranked well ahead of the rest of the country in 2023, more than doubling the minimum middle-class income from some states at the bottom of our list.

Along with its proximity to major economic centers in New York and Philadelphia, New Jersey has a robust industrial history and jobs across high-paying sectors like finance.

4. Washington

Middle-class income range in 2023: $99,929 to $166,548 per year

The low end of the middle-class salary range in Washington came in at just under $100,000 in 2023. The state is home to the city with the country’s second-highest earners: Seattle.

Washington has the highest minimum wage of any state in the country, at $16.28 per hour, and some major cities in the state offer minimum wages of around $20 per hour.

5. Maryland

Middle-class income range in 2023: $98,350 to $163,917 per year

Maryland has a high concentration of white-collar jobs in health care and other professional services, and the state ranks near the top of this list due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and the high number of federal workers who commute there.

The state also has a well-educated workforce and a low unemployment rate relative to the rest of the country.

How have middle-class incomes changed in each state?

While inflation has surged in recent years, wages across America have risen as well. Overall, the median pay middle-class Americans earned grew by 21% between 2019 and 2023. However, those gains were not equal across the country.

In Alaska, the minimum middle-class income grew by only 4%. In Arizona, where the population continues to grow, the lowest income level for the state’s middle class increased by 37%.

Despite generally widespread income growth, rising prices and income inequality have contributed to a shrinking middle class, leaving more people locked out of the typical American dream.

Cities with the highest-earning middle-class workers

With smaller populations than states and more concentrated industries, cities in the U.S. see much more variation in middle-class income ranges. If you maintain the same income, moving just a few hundred miles away can mean the difference between being lower-middle-class and earning well above other middle-class workers in your area.

In San Francisco, California, for example, the lowest-earning members of the middle class earned over $142,000 in 2023. Less than 100 miles away in Stockton, California, the high end of the middle class was less than $109,000.

1. Arlington, Virginia

Middle-class income range in 2023: $170,004 to $283,340 per year

Arlington lies just outside Washington, D.C., and is home to many federal employees, other workers who contract with the federal government and college-educated workers in lucrative positions. The high number of these well-paid employees drove up the range of middle-class incomes in 2023.

Arlington’s middle-class income range falls almost entirely above the middle-class range in the first-place state, Massachusetts.

2. Seattle, Washington

Middle-class income range in 2023: $154,010 to $256,683 per year

A city with one of the highest minimum wages in the nation in 2023 and the economic engine of Washington’s economy, Seattle comes in at No. 2 on our list, with a middle class that varied by more than $100,000 in annual income from its lowest to highest end in 2023.

The Seattle area is home to some of the country's largest companies and most recognizable brands, including Amazon, Costco, Microsoft and Starbucks.

3. Irvine, California

Middle-class income range in 2023: $150,103 to $250,172 per year

Irvine, just south of Los Angeles, may not be as highly populated as other major cities throughout California, but it had the highest middle-class income range in 2023. Like many of its neighboring cities throughout Southern California, Irvine suffers from higher expenses and an inflated cost of living. However, it is also known for having a growing rate of higher-paying jobs.

4. Washington, D.C.

Middle-class income range in 2023: $148,138 to $246,896 per year

In Washington, D.C., the city’s middle class is bolstered by many higher-paying federal jobs. The capital also has a minimum wage of $17 per hour, one of the highest in the country. This put the floor for even the lowest-paying jobs in the area much higher than in other places throughout the country.

As in other parts of the country with high incomes, residents in Washington face some of the highest living costs. Although inflation has pushed prices higher, wages have also risen rapidly.

5. San Jose, California

Middle-class income range in 2023: $148,028 to $246,713 per year

As part of Silicon Valley and the nation’s tech hub, San Jose boasted middle-class incomes starting at $148,000 in 2023. Residents in San Jose have access to many major companies, including Google, Apple and Cisco, that offer high-paying jobs locally and in other nearby cities.

How has the definition of middle-class changed in major cities?

Unlike states — which have larger, more stable populations and experience fewer annual swings in incomes and expenses — many major U.S. cities saw significant changes in the incomes that defined the middle class between 2019 and 2023.

Fast-growing Atlanta, Georgia, is a prime example, with its middle-class income threshold more than doubling, from less than $49,000 in 2019 to more than $100,000 in 2023.

At the other end of the spectrum, some cities saw middle-class incomes shrink in recent years. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, the low end of the middle class fell from $52,411 in 2019 to $46,711 in 2023.

Methodology

To determine the middle-class income range for each state and city, we gathered median income data from the 2023 American Community Survey, the most recent dataset available. Our analysis focused on three-person households. We calculated the middle-class range as 75% to 125% of the median income for each location. To account for varying living costs, we applied regional price parities to these ranges. Our study encompassed all 50 states and the 100 most highly populated U.S. cities.

For historical comparison, we also analyzed data from the 2019 American Community Survey, applying the same 75% to 125% range to determine the middle-class income range for that year. We adjusted these figures using regional price parities to account for living cost differences. We calculated the percentage change in the income required to be considered middle-class between 2019 and 2023 for each location.

For questions about the data or if you'd like to set up an interview, please contact acurls@consumeraffairs.com.

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Article sources

ConsumerAffairs writers primarily rely on government data, industry experts and original research from other reputable publications to inform their work. Specific sources for this article include:

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, “Explore Census Data.” Accessed Oct. 17, 2024.Link Here
  2. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Real Personal Consumption Expenditures by State and Real Personal Income by State and Metropolitan Area, 2022.” Accessed Oct. 17, 2024.Link Here
  3. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Real Personal Income by State and Metropolitan Area, 2019.” Accessed Oct. 17, 2024.Link Here
  4. The Brookings Institution, “Rising inequality: A major issue of our time.” Accessed Oct. 20, 2024.Link Here
  5. Economic Policy Institute, “Minimum Wage Tracker.” Accessed Oct. 17, 2024.Link Here
  6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Local Area Unemployment Statistics.” Accessed Oct. 17, 2024.Link Here
  7. UC Irvine School of Social Ecology, “Irvine has highest high-income job growth in region.” Accessed Oct. 17, 2024.Link Here

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