What does it mean to be Middle Class?

What exactly is a Middle-Class income? If you consider yourself among the Middle Class you’re in the majority, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center.

Unlike the Federal Poverty Guideline, which lays out specific metrics, this term seems elusive. Still, people seem to have assigned their own meanings and definitions to this social class. Put simply, this is a label people assign to themselves or their peers. I think the same holds true with poverty, except that people aren’t as willing to associate themselves with this label. Poverty can be a dirty word in some circles.

Even at CANI we face this issue. Our families come to us for help but they don’t necessarily want to be labeled as “low-income” or “poor.” We are sensitive to that stigma and do our best to acknowledge that.

If you aren’t poor, then does that make you Middle Class? The survey’s findings indicate that 53 percent of adults describe themselves as Middle Class. Demographic data shows that the median family income is about $52,000. About half of the respondents who identify as Middle Class earn between $30,000 and $100,000 annually. But about one-in-ten (9 percent) earn between $20,000 and $29,999 annually, and another 12 percent say they make under $20,000 annually.

The bottom line: this term is relative and difficult to pin down. A social and economic construct, it makes Middle Class a messy concept. Is someone making $40,000 a year in New York City considered Middle Class? What about a $100,000-a-year plumber in Nebraska?

So, how about you? What do you consider Middle Class?