How Much Do You Have to Make to Be Considered Middle Class?

I used to describe myself as middle class. I'm thinking I'll be changing my definition.

GOBankingRates did some digging using information from the Census Bureau's 2018 American Community Survey. They based it on what the Pew Research Center defines as middle class (middle-income household). You have to have income that is two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income.

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Of course cost of living and average incomes are very different from state to state. You might be 'middle-class' in one state and nowhere near 'middle-class' in another state. So GOBankingRates used Pew's definition and crunched the numbers for all the states. But let's just cover Maine.

Marcio Silva

Maine

2-person family middle-class income range: $42,119.55 to $125,730
3-person family middle-class income range: $50,917.32 to $151,992
4-person family middle-class income range: $60,412.56 to $180,336

So, are you middle class? That's quite the range of income to hit the middle spot. But if you go to our neighbors to the south, New Hampshire, it gets a lot tougher to be middle class!

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New Hampshire

2-person family middle-class income range: $51,969.89 to $155,134
3-person family middle-class income range: $63,278.82 to $188,892
4-person family middle-class income range: $77,816.48 to $232,288

The income levels in New Hampshire were pretty crazy even outpacing what it takes to be middle class in New York!

If you compare what is considered middle class to what is the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) - it's a definite reality check.

$17,420 for a family of 2
$21,960 for a family of 3
$26,500 for a family of 4

According to a quick Google search, 10.9% of Maine lived below the poverty level in 2019. Almost 11% of Maine living below the poverty level! That's absolutely insane!

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Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

How Much Do You Have to Make to Be Considered Middle Class in Maine?

LOOK: Here is the richest town in each state

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