Understanding where you fall in the American economic class system isn’t as simple as pulling out a calculator or looking at a pay stub. Various forces shape individuals’ economic classes and their views on where they rank among other Americans.
Read on to find out more about how Americans view themselves economically and the ever-changing definition of the middle class.
How Americans Identify Their Social Classes
Among Americans, 54% say they belong to the middle class, according to a 2024 survey from Gallup.
Additionally, 31% identify as working class, 12% identify as lower class and just 2% identify as upper class. In determining their social classes, people often don’t think only about income, experts say, but about other factors like education, location and family history.
The majority of participants in a 2023 poll by the Washington Post, for instance, said that Americans need to do the following to be considered part of the middle class:
— Own a home
— Have a secure job
— Be able to save money
— Have the time and money to take vacations
— Have health insurance
— Be able to afford a $1,000 emergency
— Be able to pay all bills on time
— Have a job with paid sick leave
— Be able to retire in comfort
When it comes to defining the middle class, says Jeffery M. Jones, senior editor at Gallup, “It’s more of a feeling. It’s about economic security, being able to afford what you need, but then also maybe a bit beyond the basics. Maybe vacations, something extra recreational, a third car, money to do things beyond what you need to live,” he says.
Economic Trends May Impact How People View Their Class Rankings
Recent economic trends such as elevated rates of inflation, tariff wars and fears of an impending recession have impacted the financial health of many American households and businesses.
As of April 2025, 55% of Americans rated their financial situations as fair or poor, according to Gallup. Even more concerning, consumers’ financial outlook reached a record low since Gallup began tracking the metric in 2001. Now, 53% of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse.
Time will tell how current events impact the way Americans view their economic class rankings in the years to come.
Middle Class Trends Over the Last 50 Years
In general, much of today’s political rhetoric focuses on the challenges facing the middle class.
Although household incomes have risen over the past 50 years or so, it took more than 15 years for them to regain their 2000-level incomes and recover from the short-lived 2001 recession and the longer Great Recession, says Richard Fry, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center.
“The 15-year period of stagnation was unprecedented in the past five decades,” he says.
According to Fry, meager income gains likely have contributed to feelings of frustration and downward mobility. And while most American households are doing better than 50 years ago, the gains have not been equal, he says.
“Everybody’s better off, but it’s particularly the well-off who are better off,” he adds.
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Breaking Down the Middle Class by Income
One way some researchers divide individuals into economic classes is by looking at their incomes. From that data, they split earners into different classes: poor, lower-middle class, middle class, upper-middle class and wealthy.
The Pew Research Center defines middle-income Americans as those whose annual household incomes are two-thirds to double the national median (adjusted for local cost of living and household size).
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In the first quarter of 2025, the median weekly earnings for full-time American workers were $1,194, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That puts the median annual income at $62,088.
According to Pew Research Center’s guidelines , middle-income Americans would have annual incomes between $41,392 and $124,176 in 2025, before adjusting for local cost of living and household size.
| Lower Class Income Maximum | Middle Class Income Median | Upper Class Income Minimum | |
| Annual Income | $41,392 | $62,088 | $124,176 |
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Am I Middle Class?
How a person perceives their own social class extends beyond what an income tax form claims they earn, experts say.
You can look at income, education, marital status, location, family history, gut instinct and a host of other factors to find out where you fall. But the bottom line is this: Finding the answer is more complex than just looking at a number.
Where you fall in the American economic class system also may not stay consistent throughout your life, or even from year to year.
For example, a law student may earn a modest graduate student stipend of $20,000 per year, putting them in the low-income class. But education and future earnings will most likely catapult their income and class placement to a higher level down the road.
“People really need to understand that whatever’s happening (with their class rank) today is part of a trajectory, part of their life,” says Stephen Rose, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and research professor at George Washington Institute of Public Policy.
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Where Do I Fall in the American Economic Class System? originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 06/02/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
