(NEXSTAR) — Amid rising costs and economic uncertainty, it can be difficult to tell whether your paycheck is still putting you in the middle class. New data shows just how much a household needs to earn to be within that threshold — and how many aren’t earning enough.
The definition of “middle class” can vary, but many use Pew Research’s: two-thirds to double the median household income within a certain area. Nationally, personal finance site SmartAsset recently found that range to be roughly $49,500 and $148,500 in household income. That’s up from $49,271 to $147,828 last year.
At that threshold, however, more than 30% of Americans may not earn enough to be considered middle class.
An estimated 32% of American households have an income at or below $49,999, according to the 2023 American Community Survey, the most recently available data set from the U.S. Census Bureau. About 22% of American households earn $34,999 or less.
Meanwhile, about 21.5% of American households earn at least $150,000.
The middle-class range can, however, vary based on where you live.
In Massachusetts, for example, a household needs to earn an income of more than $66,500. Census data shows that about 27% of residents in Massachusetts make less than $50,000 (the data set uses income ranges rather than a specific annual income, with more than 12% of Massachusetts households earning between $50,000 and $74,999). On the other end, more than 21% of households in the state earn $200,000 or more, too much to be considered middle class.
Meanwhile, in Mississippi, the minimum household income threshold to be middle class is roughly $36,000. More than 33% earn less than $35,000, Census data shows. Still, roughly 20% of households earn at least $100,000, putting them within the upper-class range in the state.
The interactive table below shows the lower and upper thresholds of the middle class throughout the U.S., as well as the percentage of households earning less than $50,000 and more than $150,000.
You can find SmartAsset’s full report here.
Worries have been building about a potentially toxic mix of worsening inflation and a U.S. economy slowing because of households afraid to spend due to the global trade war.
A report released late last month showed all types of U.S. consumers are getting more pessimistic about their future finances. Two out of three expect unemployment to worsen in the year ahead, according to a survey by the University of Michigan. That’s the highest reading since 2009, and it raises worries about a job market that’s been a linchpin keeping the U.S. economy solid.
A separate report also raised concerns after it showed that a widely followed, underlying measure of inflation was a touch worse last month than economists expected. It followed reports on other measures of inflation for February, but this is the one the Federal Reserve pays the most attention to as it decides what to do with interest rates.
The report also showed that an underlying measure of how much income Americans are making, which excludes government social benefits and some other items, “has been treading water for the last three months,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
“Households aren’t in a good place to absorb a little tariff pain,” he said. “The Fed isn’t likely to run to the rescue either as inflation moved up more than expected in February.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.