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American middle class
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American middle class
Though the American middle class does not have a definitive definition, contemporary social scientists have put forward several ostensibly congruent theories on it. Depending on the class model used, the middle class constitutes anywhere from 25% to 75% of households.
One of the first major studies of the middle class in America was White Collar: The American Middle Classes, published in 1951 by sociologist C. Wright Mills. Later sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert commonly divide the middle class into two sub-groups: the professional or upper middle class (~15-20% of all households) consisting of highly educated, salaried professionals and managers, and the lower middle class (~33% of all households) consisting mostly of semi-professionals, skilled craftsmen and lower-level management. Middle-class persons commonly have a comfortable standard of living, significant economic security, considerable work autonomy and rely on their expertise to sustain themselves.
Members of the middle class belong to diverse groups which overlap with each other. Overall, middle-class persons, especially upper-middle-class individuals, are characterized by conceptualizing, creating and consulting. Thus, college education is one of the main indicators of middle-class status. Largely attributed to the nature of middle-class occupations, middle class values tend to emphasize independence, adherence to intrinsic standards, valuing innovation and respecting non-conformity. The middle class is more politically active than other demographics. The middle classes are very influential as they encompass the majority of voters, writers, teachers, journalists and editors. Most societal trends in the U.S. originate within the middle classes.
According to a 2021 Pew Research study that classifies adults as middle class if they belong to a household with income between 2/3 and 2x median household income ($52k-$156k for a household of three), the percentage of Americans in the middle class declined from 61% to 50% over the previous five decades (1971-2021) with 4% moving down into the lower class and 7% moving up into the upper class. In 2019, as defined by the Future of the Middle Class Initiative to be the middle 60 percent of the income distribution, and looking only at individuals 25-54: 59 percent were white, 18 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Black, and 10 percent “other.”
Scholars have a variety of technical measures of who is middle-class. By contrast public opinion has a variety of implicit measures. The definitions seem to stretch quite a great deal depending on the political cause that is being invoked or defended, as one commentator noted:
Well, it depends on whom you ask. Everyone wants to believe they are middle class. For people on the bottom and the top of the wage scale the phrase connotes a certain Regular Joe cachet. But this eagerness to be part of the group has led the definition to be stretched like a bungee cord - used to defend/attack/describe everything from the Earned Income Tax Credit to the estate tax.
Some scholars have emphasized factors such as education and culture. Those households more or less at the center of society may be referred to as being part of the American middle or "middle-middle class" in vernacular language use. In some academic models of social class, however, the middle class does not constitute a strong majority of the population. Those in the middle of the socio-economic strata—the proverbial "Average Joe"—are commonly in the area where the working and lower middle classes overlap.
Tertiary education (or "higher education") is required for many middle-class professions, depending on how the term middle class is to be defined. Educational attainment is also directly linked to income.
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American middle class
Though the American middle class does not have a definitive definition, contemporary social scientists have put forward several ostensibly congruent theories on it. Depending on the class model used, the middle class constitutes anywhere from 25% to 75% of households.
One of the first major studies of the middle class in America was White Collar: The American Middle Classes, published in 1951 by sociologist C. Wright Mills. Later sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert commonly divide the middle class into two sub-groups: the professional or upper middle class (~15-20% of all households) consisting of highly educated, salaried professionals and managers, and the lower middle class (~33% of all households) consisting mostly of semi-professionals, skilled craftsmen and lower-level management. Middle-class persons commonly have a comfortable standard of living, significant economic security, considerable work autonomy and rely on their expertise to sustain themselves.
Members of the middle class belong to diverse groups which overlap with each other. Overall, middle-class persons, especially upper-middle-class individuals, are characterized by conceptualizing, creating and consulting. Thus, college education is one of the main indicators of middle-class status. Largely attributed to the nature of middle-class occupations, middle class values tend to emphasize independence, adherence to intrinsic standards, valuing innovation and respecting non-conformity. The middle class is more politically active than other demographics. The middle classes are very influential as they encompass the majority of voters, writers, teachers, journalists and editors. Most societal trends in the U.S. originate within the middle classes.
According to a 2021 Pew Research study that classifies adults as middle class if they belong to a household with income between 2/3 and 2x median household income ($52k-$156k for a household of three), the percentage of Americans in the middle class declined from 61% to 50% over the previous five decades (1971-2021) with 4% moving down into the lower class and 7% moving up into the upper class. In 2019, as defined by the Future of the Middle Class Initiative to be the middle 60 percent of the income distribution, and looking only at individuals 25-54: 59 percent were white, 18 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Black, and 10 percent “other.”
Scholars have a variety of technical measures of who is middle-class. By contrast public opinion has a variety of implicit measures. The definitions seem to stretch quite a great deal depending on the political cause that is being invoked or defended, as one commentator noted:
Well, it depends on whom you ask. Everyone wants to believe they are middle class. For people on the bottom and the top of the wage scale the phrase connotes a certain Regular Joe cachet. But this eagerness to be part of the group has led the definition to be stretched like a bungee cord - used to defend/attack/describe everything from the Earned Income Tax Credit to the estate tax.
Some scholars have emphasized factors such as education and culture. Those households more or less at the center of society may be referred to as being part of the American middle or "middle-middle class" in vernacular language use. In some academic models of social class, however, the middle class does not constitute a strong majority of the population. Those in the middle of the socio-economic strata—the proverbial "Average Joe"—are commonly in the area where the working and lower middle classes overlap.
Tertiary education (or "higher education") is required for many middle-class professions, depending on how the term middle class is to be defined. Educational attainment is also directly linked to income.