“Middle class” means different things in different places. A household earning $75,000 is upper-middle class in Mississippi but lower-middle class in Massachusetts. Here’s the data.
Table of Contents
National Middle Class Income Range
Using the Pew Research Center definition (two-thirds to double the median household income):
Metric
Amount
National median household income
$80,600
Lower bound (⅔ of median)
$53,700
Upper bound (2× median)
$161,200
Middle class range
$53,700 - $161,200
Middle Class Income by State
State
Median Household Income
Middle Class Range
Alabama
$59,600
$39,700 - $119,200
Alaska
$80,400
$53,600 - $160,800
Arizona
$72,600
$48,400 - $145,200
Arkansas
$56,300
$37,500 - $112,600
California
$91,900
$61,300 - $183,800
Colorado
$87,600
$58,400 - $175,200
Connecticut
$90,200
$60,100 - $180,400
Delaware
$79,300
$52,900 - $158,600
Florida
$67,900
$45,300 - $135,800
Georgia
$71,300
$47,500 - $142,600
Hawaii
$94,800
$63,200 - $189,600
Idaho
$69,000
$46,000 - $138,000
Illinois
$78,400
$52,300 - $156,800
Indiana
$67,200
$44,800 - $134,400
Iowa
$72,400
$48,300 - $144,800
Kansas
$71,000
$47,300 - $142,000
Kentucky
$60,400
$40,300 - $120,800
Louisiana
$57,800
$38,500 - $115,600
Maine
$68,300
$45,500 - $136,600
Maryland
$98,500
$65,700 - $197,000
Massachusetts
$96,500
$64,300 - $193,000
Michigan
$68,000
$45,300 - $136,000
Minnesota
$84,300
$56,200 - $168,600
Mississippi
$52,100
$34,700 - $104,200
Missouri
$65,900
$43,900 - $131,800
Montana
$66,300
$44,200 - $132,600
Nebraska
$74,600
$49,700 - $149,200
Nevada
$71,600
$47,700 - $143,200
New Hampshire
$90,800
$60,500 - $181,600
New Jersey
$97,100
$64,700 - $194,200
New Mexico
$58,700
$39,100 - $117,400
New York
$81,400
$54,300 - $162,800
North Carolina
$66,200
$44,100 - $132,400
North Dakota
$73,900
$49,300 - $147,800
Ohio
$65,700
$43,800 - $131,400
Oklahoma
$61,400
$40,900 - $122,800
Oregon
$76,400
$50,900 - $152,800
Pennsylvania
$73,200
$48,800 - $146,400
Rhode Island
$78,000
$52,000 - $156,000
South Carolina
$63,600
$42,400 - $127,200
South Dakota
$69,500
$46,300 - $139,000
Tennessee
$63,500
$42,300 - $127,000
Texas
$73,000
$48,700 - $146,000
Utah
$86,300
$57,500 - $172,600
Vermont
$72,400
$48,300 - $144,800
Virginia
$87,300
$58,200 - $174,600
Washington
$90,300
$60,200 - $180,600
West Virginia
$53,100
$35,400 - $106,200
Wisconsin
$72,500
$48,300 - $145,000
Wyoming
$72,500
$48,300 - $145,000
Widest and Narrowest Middle Class Ranges
States Where Middle Class Starts Highest
Rank
State
Lower Bound
Median HHI
1
Maryland
$65,700
$98,500
2
Massachusetts
$64,300
$96,500
3
New Jersey
$64,700
$97,100
4
Hawaii
$63,200
$94,800
5
California
$61,300
$91,900
States Where Middle Class Starts Lowest
Rank
State
Lower Bound
Median HHI
1
Mississippi
$34,700
$52,100
2
West Virginia
$35,400
$53,100
3
Arkansas
$37,500
$56,300
4
Louisiana
$38,500
$57,800
5
New Mexico
$39,100
$58,700
The Shrinking Middle Class
The share of Americans in the middle class has declined over time:
Year
% of Adults in Middle Class
1971
61%
1981
59%
1991
56%
2001
54%
2011
51%
2021
50%
2025
~49%
Where did they go?
Shift
% of Adults
Moved to upper income
+7% (since 1971)
Moved to lower income
+4% (since 1971)
More people moved up than down, but polarization is increasing.
$100K Income: Middle Class or Not?
State
$100K Falls Where
Percentile
Mississippi
Upper-middle class
~82nd
Alabama
Upper-middle class
~79th
Texas
Middle class
~68th
National average
Middle class
~63rd
California
Lower-middle class
~52nd
Massachusetts
Lower-middle class
~50th
New York City (metro)
Lower-middle class
~45th
Key Takeaways
National middle class: $53,700-$161,200 for a household of three (Pew definition)
Mississippi’s middle class starts at $34,700 — Maryland’s starts at $65,700 (nearly 2× higher)
$100K is solidly middle class nationally but lower-middle in CA, MA, NJ, and NY
The middle class is shrinking — from 61% of adults in 1971 to ~49% today
More people moved up than down but income polarization is growing
