Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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The State of the American Middle Class
Share of Americans in the middle class has fallen since 1971
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- The State of the American Middle Class
- Share of Americans in the middle class has fallen since 1971
- Incomes of upper-income U.S. households increased the most of any income tier from 1970 to 2022
- Share of total U.S. household income held by the middle class has plunged since 1970
- Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native people are more likely than others to live in lower-income U.S. households
- Nearly 4 in 10 U.S. children lived in lower-income households in 2022, about half in the middle class
- Men, veterans and married Americans were more likely than their counterparts to live in middle- or upper-income households in 2022
- Immigrants were more likely than the U.S. born to be lower income in 2022; people born in Asia, Europe or Oceania were most likely to be upper income
- Americans of South Asian origin are the most likely to be upper income; Hispanic origins are the least likely
- The share of Americans in the middle- or upper-income tier rises sharply with education and employment
- More than a third of U.S. workers in technology, management, and business and finance occupations were in the upper-income tier in 2022
- About a third of U.S. workers in the information, financial and professional services sectors were in the upper-income tier in 2022
- The 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest shares of residents in the middle class in 2022
- The 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest shares of residents in the upper-income tier in 2022
- The 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest shares of residents in the lower-income tier in 2022