What is the income range of the middle class?

What's middle class, anyway?

"Middle class" is a squishy concept if ever there was one.

If we define it solely by income, then according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a household income of $36,000 to $57,657 in 2005 landed you squarely in the middle class. If you want to expand the definition to include "lower" and "upper" middle class, the range widens considerably, from $19,178 to $91,704.

Of course, there are plenty of problems with using income figures, most notably because income alone doesn't reflect the huge variation in living costs across the U.S. Simply put, $50,000 might buy you a comfortable life in Iowa or Kentucky but keep you scrambling in San Francisco or Manhattan. And there are plenty of folks living in high-cost areas with nominally "upper middle class" or even "upper class" incomes who would adamantly reject those labels.

To be middle class in your region no more than 1/3 of your income can be earmarked for payment of your dwelling, 1/3 for necessities of life (food, water, power, transportation, clothing), and 1/3 for taxes...... yes you do pay that much in taxes or you are leaving some out such as car tags or all that stuff on your phone bill that you don't know what any of it means.

middle class is different in different regions of the nation.

$40,000 goes further in the Midwest than it does in New York City.

Thus revealing a great problem with people who want a overly strong federal government. The United States is NOT a one size fits all. You can not squeeze us into a one size fits all society comfortably. We are diverse and that is our characteristic as a nation.

It really depends on where you live. If you live in Alabama $30,000 a year would be middle class. If you live in San Francisco you would need about $100,000 to get by

I believe anything under $120,000 and above $30,000 is middle concisered middle class.

It depends on the cost of living where you live. Google it.