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:
“There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail.”
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946)
“The secret of success lies never in the amount of money, but in the relation of income to outgo.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I had always been so much taken with the way all English people I knew always were going to see their lawyer. Even if they have no income and do not earn anything they always have a lawyer.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)