Income
As social classes lack clear boundaries and overlap there are no definite income thresholds as for what is considered middle class. Sociologist Leonard Beeghley identifies a male making $57,000 and a female making $40,000 with a combined households income of $97,000 as a typical middle-class family. Sociologists William Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate an income range of roughly $35,000 to $75,000 for the lower middle class and $100,000 or more for the upper middle class. Many social scientists including economist Michael Zweig and sociologist Dennis Gilbert contend that middle class persons usually have above median incomes.
| Median income levels | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Persons, age 25 or older with earnings | Household income by race | |||||||
| All households | Dual earner households |
Per household member |
Males | Females | Both sexes | Asian | White, non-hispanic |
Hispanic | Black |
| $46,326 | $67,348 | $23,535 | $39,403 | $26,507 | $32,140 | $57,518 | $48,977 | $34,241 | $30,134 |
| Median personal income by educational attainment | |||||||||
| Measure | Some High School | High school graduate | Some college | Associate's degree | Bachelor's degree or higher | Bachelor's degree | Master's degree | Professional degree | Doctorate degree |
| Persons, age 25+ w/ earnings | $20,321 | $26,505 | $31,054 | $35,009 | $49,303 | $43,143 | $52,390 | $82,473 | $70,853 |
| Male, age 25+ w/ earnings | $24,192 | $32,085 | $39,150 | $42,382 | $60,493 | $52,265 | $67,123 | $100,000 | $78,324 |
| Female, age 25+ w/ earnings | $15,073 | $21,117 | $25,185 | $29,510 | $40,483 | $36,532 | $45,730 | $66,055 | $54,666 |
| Persons, age 25+, employed full-time | $25,039 | $31,539 | $37,135 | $40,588 | $56,078 | $50,944 | $61,273 | $100,000 | $79,401 |
| Household | $22,718 | $36,835 | $45,854 | $51,970 | $73,446 | $68,728 | $78,541 | $100,000 | $96,830 |
| Household income distribution | |||||||||
| Bottom 10% | Bottom 20% | Bottom 25% | Middle 33% | Middle 20% | Top 25% | Top 20% | Top 5% | Top 1.5% | Top 1% |
| $0 to $10,500 | $0 to $18,500 | $0 to $22,500 | $30,000 to $62,500 | $35,000 to $55,000 | $77,500 and up | $92,000 and up | $167,000 and up | $250,000 and up | $350,000 and up |
Read more about this topic: American Middle Class
Famous quotes containing the word income:
“We commonly say that the rich man can speak the truth, can afford honesty, can afford independence of opinion and action;—and that is the theory of nobility. But it is the rich man in a true sense, that is to say, not the man of large income and large expenditure, but solely the man whose outlay is less than his income and is steadily kept so.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Italy is such a delightful place to live in if you happen to be a man. There one may enjoy that exquisite luxury of Socialism—that true Socialism which is based not on equality of income or character, but on the equality of manners. In the democracy of the caffè or the street the great question of our life has been solved, and the brotherhood of man is a reality. But it is accomplished at the expense of the sisterhood of women.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)
“Work though we must, our jobs do not automatically determine our priorities concerning our marriages, our children, our social life, or even our health. It’s still life, constrained as it may be by limited disposable income or leisure time, and we’re still responsible for making it something we enjoy or endure.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)