Our combined HHI is higher that what constitutes "middle class" in our county ... but there's also a LOT of disparity between our different towns. I definitely don't consider myself anything other than mid-range middle class.
No, we make more, but somehow we still feel like we are out of money at the end of the month. It's always something (my medical bills, H's medical bills, etc). We would have major life decisions to make if we dropped down to the middle class range.
ETA: This is by county, but in our town we are about middle of the road.
Our combined HHI is higher that what constitutes "middle class" in our county ... but there's also a LOT of disparity between our different towns. I definitely don't consider myself anything other than mid-range middle class.
I'm here too. The town we live in is super expensive. We'll never be able to keep up with the Joneses; they have a vacation house on Turks and Caicos. But, some of the other towns in my county are much less expensive to live in. We live in town because we work here, and I don't want to deal with a commute.
Our SL-adjusted income would feel more middle class than straight income, but even then, we'd be above average. I acknowledge that I don't really know first hand what life is like below "middle" so everything feels like "yeah I bet that's about middle-ish!" Doesn't make it so.
Do I earn anything close to the middle of the road for my county? No way. Does that make me not middle class? No way. I think this is kind of silly.
This is America. Virtually everyone is middle class. Sure, there's lower middle class and middle middle class and upper middle class, but they're all part of the middle class. Being that I am not the great-grandchild of an oil tycoon and have to work for a living, no matter how much money I earn in my lifetime I am still pretty much guaranteed to remain part of the middle class.
Our combined HHI is higher that what constitutes "middle class" in our county ... but there's also a LOT of disparity between our different towns. I definitely don't consider myself anything other than mid-range middle class.
This is us. One town over has a much lower HHI and one town over has a much higher HHI
Post by tripleshot on Sept 15, 2014 8:42:53 GMT -5
Wow, middle class in my county is $36k-$55k. Our HHI is about $130k but there are super super rich and very very poor areas within the county and even the major city so it's difficult to think we're so much more than "middle class." I consider us middle class. Are these numbers from the census?
Income is not the only idicator of class. We are higher than the middle income range, but we also just bought our house. If you make within that bracket and bought your house back when they were dirt cheap you are doing way better than we are.
So, if you are above that bracket what are you? We certainly aren't upper class!
We live in the corner of 3 counties and we are not middle class by CNN's definition, in any of them. That said, there is plenty of big money around us, some old and some new, major oil money. In the grand scheme of things, we are still solidly "middle".
Wow, middle class in my county is $36k-$55k. Our HHI is about $130k but there are super super rich and very very poor areas within the county and even the major city so it's difficult to think we're so much more than "middle class." I consider us middle class. Are these numbers from the census?
Notes: Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010-2012 American Community Survey in 2013 dollars. They reflect the household income of the middle fifth of residents in each county. Counties with populations greater than 20,000 are included.
Post by imojoebunny on Sept 15, 2014 8:50:49 GMT -5
Not even close. There are some pretty poor areas of our county, so not many college educated working people would qualify for middle class here. There is a large divide between the completely uneducated and the high school and college grads. The high school graduation rate here is an absolutely pathetic 49%.
There are 14,000 school districts in the United States. These geniuses are running one that is in the top 25 for drop out rate.
You are not middle class just because you fall in the middle of the range for your county. That's the most ridiculous measurement I've ever heard. If you can afford to live in a rich area, you are not middle class just because of where you fall compared to your neighbors. You are middle class compared to where you are to the rest of the country. The more choices you have in how you spend your money, the wealthier you are. Housing costs are a choice.
Do I earn anything close to the middle of the road for my county? No way. Does that make me not middle class? No way. I think this is kind of silly.
This is America. Virtually everyone is middle class. Sure, there's lower middle class and middle middle class and upper middle class, but they're all part of the middle class. Being that I am not the great-grandchild of an oil tycoon and have to work for a living, no matter how much money I earn in my lifetime I am still pretty much guaranteed to remain part of the middle class.
This is household income, right? If so, we fall into middle class. Which is depressing considering how impossible we are finding it to get decent housing with our income.
My county has $76-$119k as middle class. So we are higher than that but I feel like that those numbers are pretty high for the US and we definitely feel it in our county.
Income is not the only idicator of class. We are higher than the middle income range, but we also just bought our house. If you make within that bracket and bought your house back when they were dirt cheap you are doing way better than we are.
So, if you are above that bracket what are you? We certainly aren't upper class!
I agree. My income helps determine that I'm middle class, but a lot of it also comes from my attitude and my lifestyle.
Post by lasagnasshole on Sept 15, 2014 9:05:37 GMT -5
I feel middle class. That calculator has no option for District of Columbia, so my feelings cannot be contradicted with data. Therefore, I am middle class.
We aren't "middle class". Yes, there are plenty of people that make more money than we do, and I have to work for a living. I'm not sure I would call myself upper class though, because upper class seems to be reserved for those who are independently wealthy, maybe one day...I'm not sure what I am.
DH and I were just talking about this the other day, on an every day basis we don't feel like we are anything but middle class, we live pretty frugally, we shop with coupons, we think about what we purchase. At the end of the day though, I look around, look at where we live, where we go on vacation, how much we save, we never really worry about money. My kid self would have thought we were rich.
Do I earn anything close to the middle of the road for my county? No way. Does that make me not middle class? No way. I think this is kind of silly.
This is America. Virtually everyone is middle class. Sure, there's lower middle class and middle middle class and upper middle class, but they're all part of the middle class. Being that I am not the great-grandchild of an oil tycoon and have to work for a living, no matter how much money I earn in my lifetime I am still pretty much guaranteed to remain part of the middle class.
You are not middle class.
I certainly do not think that I am in the middle of the middle class.
But in America, pretty much everyone who isn't living in poverty is somewhere in the middle class. The upper class is virtually non-existent.
Yet we can't afford a cleaning lady. Harumph. If we didn't have a $1200+/mo daycare bill, I would feel a lot more upper class. LOL.
For sure! We're seriously strategizing how to afford having a 2nd kid in daycare. Makes me feel working class to say "but we can't actually afford that!"