What Do You Consider Middle Class?

hmm... When I think of middle class, I think of the people that are getting by. Not worrying about money, but don't have a lot of extra money. Those that work for what they have, have good or decent jobs. College education.

I think middle class is a very vast range of people.

I think that middle class is not defined by a cetain amount. $60,000 a year where I grew up is a very comfortable living, and it would definately be middle class, but $60,000 in New York City would be considered poor because of the high cost of living. It also depends on how much debt to income ratio you have. Someone who makes 60,000 a year with no debt makes more than someone who makes 100,000 but has a lot of debt or just lives a very expensive lifestyle,

I believe we are upper middle class...but I feel wealthy. To me it has not so much to do with how much you make...but how well you manage what you make. There are many people who have upper class salaries...but they blow it away and are miserable and live paycheck to paycheck or are in debt up to their eyeballs. How can you enjoy life that way? It is a false sense of wealth.

My husband makes a lower 6 figure income and I am a SAHM who busts her butt at home,church and the kids' school. We tithe 10% to church and give generously to schools,organizations and charities. We both have Bachelor's degrees. We own our home and have a very conservative debt to income ratio...only debt is our modest mortgage. We live in the suburbs and love it!

One of the best books I read during my college years was actually not one of my textbooks. It was something that caught my eye in the bookstore. I don't remember the author but it was called "The Millionaire Next Door". It was a fascinating read...and gave me financial principles to live by.

In my opinion the middle class starts with anyone who pays taxes, I don't mean withhold but pays. Since this can go anywhere between $30,000 a year to $60,000 a year, they know who they are. It goes up to $200,000 a year. Not that someone making $200,000 a year is a millionaire or billionaire mind you, just in case Obama is reading this.

Maybe I am just cranky today but if you deduct your way out of paying taxes on your income you just aren't middle class regardless of your income. You have no skin in the game.

20 years ago i was making $17,000 within 6 years i was making $25,000. I was a single mom, no child support, no family to help, not a single penny.

In that 6 years I was able to save $13,000, bought a brand new home. Bought a brand new camry and had to furnish my new home (this took time). I moved to a nice area in the burbs of Chicago that had very affluent neighborhoods within walking distance of my home. I only had a High School education. I was also putitng money into a 401k.

I grew up very very poor poverty stricken in Chicago slums. I hated people saying that this was it, they could never get out, etc.

By definition I wasn't middle class but by strong will, I felt wealthy.

Middle class, including Lower Middle Class, Middle Middle Class and Upper Middle Class would be those families that earn between $50,000 and $125,000 per year.

But you can have a middle class income and live a low class life style because of poor money management or poor etiquette/manners. Low class life style? Car up on cinder blocks in the front yard with empty beer cans/bottles on the fenders and ground. House has been painted sometime in the last 20 years, but you can't really tell when and aren't sure if the original paint really matched. The repo trucks know where you live as soon as they see your name.

Good luck to you and yours.

Interesting question. I suppose I think it depends on where you live so a salery range doesn't really work. I think about it being that you make enought money for the essentials and for some luxuries and that you are able to save a small amount such as for kids college or retirement. I think it means NOT having a huge disposable income. I think middle class people would still be sensitive to changes in interest rates and the price of gas and croceries. I don't think it is tied to education, home ownership, or suburb versus urban versus rural, although it might be correlated with these things.

FYI I consider myself middle class. We are suburban, and we do well. Probably could do better if we were more careful with our budget. We feel secure, but if something really bad happened, like a job loss, we would definately feel it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/22-statistics-that-prove-t...#

Census says it's $49,000.
Wikapedia says..The middle class by one definition consists of an upper middle class, made up of professionals distinguished by exceptionally high educational attainment as well as high economic security; and a lower middle class, consisting of semi-professionals. While the groups overlap, differences between those at the center of both groups are considerable.

The lower middle class has lower educational attainment, considerably less workplace autonomy, and lower incomes than the upper middle class. With the emergence of a two-tier labor market, the economic benefits and life chances of upper middle class professionals have grown considerably compared to those of the lower middle class.[2][5]

The lower middle class needs two income earners in order to sustain a comfortable standard of living, while many upper middle class households can maintain a similar standard of living with just one income earner.[9][10]

Anyone not living like the Trumps, Kardashian's, movie stars, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and all of the professional athletes, politicians,

I clip coupons and shop when there are sales and do not go to the upscale department stores because I can't afford it. I shop resale for the kids and Walmart is one of my best friends. I go to other grocery stores to save a few bucks on milk and produce. Yet according to liberals and the current tax system I am considered wealthy....when in fact we are educated professional middle class.

I think it is a blend of income and money management. I have a friend who's husband makes $60k per year and they live paycheck to paycheck and I have even helped them with food before. My husband, on the other hand, makes $40k per year and we don't have any debt and are able to put a little away every month. I would say we are living far better than my friend because we have managed our money better. As far as education, I know people with Masters degrees who make less than my husband who only has a high school education. I think middle class is an income level where the people are comfortable in their lifestyle without having to stretch to make ends meet.

You would be considered "upper middle class". Most people in America consider themselves middle class. Very few people would say they are "lower middle class" even though they are. I think that even if you are a plumber or electrician, you can still be solidly middle class because often, those guys make six figures. Middle class does not necesarily mean owning a house. My brother and his wife are DINCs living in NY renting. I think it has a lot to do with education level but that is not cut and try either as I know a guy who has a 120,000 dollar education and is a writer and living below the poverty line. I would not call him "middle class" nor would I call him working class or whatever it is that is below it. "Class" is a combination of many factors including gross income, education, field of work, ect. I am a stay at home mom by choice and if I HAD to label myself (which ordinarily I would not) I would say we are upper middle class as well.

I would consider a teacher to be middle class. They can ear anywhere from $25,000 and up but I would consider their lifestyle, they can buy new vehicles, can save money and purchase a home, save for retirement, etc...they have enough to fulfill their needs and some left over.

$35,000 to $75,000 is lower middle class
$75,000 to $100,000 middle
$100,000+ is upper middle class

I have been taught in a college Anthropology class that technically the middle class is defined by salary; people who earn $50,000-250,000 per year are middle class. The trouble is that EVERYONE thinks they are middle class, and they are often offended by the suggestion that they are not. It has come to mean more to people than simply a monetary designation. People who make over $250,000 a year still call themselves middle class because they do not want to think of themselves as "the rich," either because, due to the realities of life and the high cost of living, they do not live a "rich" lifestyle; or because they want to seem like "down to earth regular folk." And people who scrape by on as little as $20,000 a year do not want to be called "poor" or "needy" because they feel that those terms are somehow derisive of their character. Especially if the poor person in question is still in school and is planning to earn a much higher salary someday. In short, everyone in America seems to have idealized the "middle class" to the point that the term has lost all of its meaning.

yeah, I would say it's making at least $60k a year and owning a home.

able to own a home and car and still have money leftover for savings

:-(

...by these definitions, we're not even lower middle class - but little one doesn't know that!

I consider "middle class" as being folks with an income over the poverty line and less than $100,000 per year. The spectrum is very broad. You have lower-middle class and upper-middle class and then those in the middle which is where I perceive my husband and I to be. Well above the povery line, but also well less than $100,000 annually.

Anyone who isn't Bill Gates.

I always considered "middle class" on how much you make, ranging from 60-150K. Type of job or education doesn't have anything to do with it, in my book... I think more education usually means better jobs for someone. Owning your homes doesn't make the class either, just how do you invest your money... My spectrum isn't too wide, just goes off of one factor, $$$...How much do you make?

I think I would judge it based on income vs minimum wage and cost of living. My hubby and I own our own home (free and clear!) and we are below the proverty level. between my hubby's two jobs we make about 20,000 take home pay

I would say my definition of middle class or upper middle class is similar to what you described above.
A.

I think middle class is being able to own a home to fit your family, and being able to support your family without any help, deductions, or charity on your own income. You can buy a car and insure it, insure all household members and have enough money for savings. Most middle class families can probably live off of 1 person's income, although they may not be "middle class" if they did so.

I use the words "can" because some people don't. Obviously any amount of money can be whittled away quickly if you try to live outside your means.

I am definitely not "middle class"--- someday maybe. To buy a home my family would have to apply for low income housing, or get help through a charity like habitat for humanity. We cannot afford to insure everyone in our family. We are far from starving... but we are not above the "poverty" level. My husband has a good job, and I stay at home because numbers-wise I would be losing money if I had a job and sent the kids to daycare. I don't feel bad about it, it is what it is and there will be a day when we will be "better off". I think you can live "richly" at almost any income level... if you are smart and frugal. When my kids go to elementary school I will go back to work, which will give us a lot of extra "breathing room" in our budget. One of my life goals is to own my own home... and I think that someday I will, by then maybe I'll be "middle class."

-M.

Median INCOME in the US is around 50K per year.