Are you middle class?

[pixy0stix]

Another old timey question from the depths of this board - are you middle class?

WaPo has an insanely good calculator for this (gift link) - wapo.st/3ITrzaH

Please only answer after doing the above.

Historically the board is upper middle class claiming to be poor or not feeling like they are upper middle class.

[pixy0stix]

We used to be smack dab in middle class for our zip code. Starting a new job with a substantial increase moved us to upper middle of the middle class. I definitely feel like we are there.

[penguingrrl]

We’re middle class but skewing towards the top of that definition. I mostly feel like we’re there, but the loss of my income last year made a major dent in our comfort as our bills (mainly our mortgage) assumed both incomes and we lost one and we’re back to being house poor.

[christy082]

I became a SAH mom in Feb, so we only have my husband's income now. We are considered middle class per that calculator now, but with my previous income, we were above middle class. Given that I am privileged to have the ability to SAH, have savings, and we both have decent retirement accounts, I would say we're above middle class.

Although if I'd been asked before reading the article and doing the calculator, I probably would have said upper middle class.

[Vespasia]

Solidly middle class for our city but higher income for our exact neighborhood. Pretty much what I already knew.

I was actually starting to feel like we were moving towards a wealthier bracket but it looks like we have a ways to go!

[formerlyak]

We are not middle class. Not by any of the definitions listed. It said we are top 5%.

[Deleted]

It shows us at the very upper limit for middle class for our zip code. We are in about the 80th percentile, and have more savings than most (due to the my first husband’s life insurance that I got at a young age, and was able to invest). So, I would say we’re on the line between “upper middle” and “upper.”

[tacokick]

Solid middle for the metro but high for my neighborhood which is what I’d expect. There are only a few neighborhoods here where I don’t think that would be the case and I wouldn’t want to live in any of them.

[Jalapeñomel]

Middle class where I live, upper middle class most other places, I think.

[IndiaInk]

Middle class to upper middle class, which I do not take for granted as a divorced single mom relying solely on my own income. My ex-H was far and away the breadwinner for the family, but I got a big career opportunity shortly after we divorced in 2021 and I'm so grateful for the financial stability.

[acuore]

 No. Calculator says we’re top 5%. 

[plutosmoon]

I am in the middle of the middle class for my income, middle 40% of incomes. That makes sense to me, I easily pay all my bills now and have money leftover to save. I also live in a low income community, which does lead me to feel very privileged. It's a recent development to be in the middle, which as I play with the numbers, the calculator confirms. If I were still married to my exh, who has mental health struggles and an inability to hold a job I would just barely be in the middle class according to the calculator. I feel practically wealthy since divorcing him.

[pixy0stix]

Jun 2, 2023 17:20:16 GMT -5 plutosmoon said:

I am in the middle of the middle class for my income, middle 40% of incomes. That makes sense to me, I easily pay all my bills now and have money leftover to save. I also live in a low income community, which does lead me to feel very privileged. It's a recent development to be in the middle, which as I play with the numbers, the calculator confirms. If I were still married to my exh, who has mental health struggles and an inability to hold a job I would just barely be in the middle class according to the calculator. I feel practically wealthy since divorcing him.

Interesting - if I divorced my H, which has been in consideration this year, I'd still be middle class, just more to the middle.

[chickadee77]

Solidly middle class by the calculator. H has job perks that don't figure into his salary that make us feel upper middle, though, honestly.

I quit my job during covid to homeschool, so we're currently a single income family.

[definitelyO]

we are not middle class - nor did I think that we were - we're higher than upper middle class.  
2 incomes - 1 kid.

[plutosmoon]

Jun 2, 2023 17:24:18 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jun 2, 2023 17:20:16 GMT -5 plutosmoon said:

I am in the middle of the middle class for my income, middle 40% of incomes. That makes sense to me, I easily pay all my bills now and have money leftover to save. I also live in a low income community, which does lead me to feel very privileged. It's a recent development to be in the middle, which as I play with the numbers, the calculator confirms. If I were still married to my exh, who has mental health struggles and an inability to hold a job I would just barely be in the middle class according to the calculator. I feel practically wealthy since divorcing him.

Interesting - if I divorced my H, which has been in consideration this year, I'd still be middle class, just more to the middle.

Exh barely worked. Most years he didn't have any income, so the extra person with no change in income locally seemed to move my arrow from the middle of middle to the lower edge. Maybe if he actually worked that would have been different. It's also entirely possible I'm reading the graphs wrong.

[jinkies]

Solid middle-- almost exact median-- for my metro.

Above average for my zip code.

[Susie]

We're 5%ers by WaPo's metrics.  I would have thought we were closer to UMC than we seem to be, but I knew we were not really MC.

Our zip code is shifted to high earners for our metro area, which I know.  We live in a bit of a blue bubble.  I would have thought we have a pretty normal income for our zip code, but apparently it's shifted proportionally higher than I realized.  I feel very "normal" here. 

[mcsangel2]

Middle class according to 2 of 3 criteria. Within the middle 60% range, but far away from the poverty level. When it asked if I thought it was accurate, I would have said no except it reads as though saying no means you feel like you are poorer than the calculator says. I feel like we are better off, we are in the middle for the metro but on the highest end for our neighborhood. And that's the biggest indicator. We've now lived in our house for 18 years. Our salaries have increased and our mortgage will be paid off in 10 years- a mortgage that is way less than you can find any apartment to rent in our metro area. However, it isn't a nice house, it's a 1250sf starter home we just stayed in; and in the 18 years, the neighborhood has changed and has a higher percentage of renters than it used to. The zip code salary range on the calculator reflects that as well. But having stayed put with a low mortgage means our savings cushion has become quite big and I feel like we are very stable and pretty well positioned to deal with most emergencies. It has helped a lot in the last year since I developed a chronic pain condition and have had massive amounts of appointments and treatments from different health care providers, not all of which are covered by insurance.

[katfco]

For my zip code, we're close to upper MC. One zip code over, and we're either lower MC or high-income, depending on the direction. The Columbus area has a significant amount of economic segregation.

[mrsslocombe]

Top 10%, even for our zip code, which surprises me (the zip code part, not the overall).

If I were single, I would be middle 40% for the USA, but still too high for NYC Metro area.

[madDawg228]

I'm solid middle class, dropped just slightly by my zip code.

One thing that surprised me is that a high % of people in my range think they are doing okay with retirement savings. It feels like most people in the middle class aren't able to save enough for actual retirement.

[tacokick]

Jun 2, 2023 17:56:04 GMT -5 madDawg228 said:

I'm solid middle class, dropped just slightly by my zip code.

One thing that surprised me is that a high % of people in my range think they are doing okay with retirement savings. It feels like most people in the middle class aren't able to save enough for actual retirement.

I wonder if there is a divide between “thinking they are doing okay” and actually doing okay. I don’t think they address this.

[Velar Fricative]

Nope. And then DH tried to argue that we are even as I showed him the chart vomit. He thinks that because we can’t afford a mansion in the mobster neighborhood that must mean we are middle class.

[arehopsveggies]

Middle

When I put in my HHI from last year we were definitely low then.

We are just getting to the point where we are losing the bits of assistance we had as a low income family (lost WIC, will lose Medicaid soon) so that causes some stress.

[wildrice]

Other than the part where they said your percentage for the country, I don't see a place that lists the exact percent. But the graph shows we are quite a bit over middle class. I am not surprised we aren't middle class - but I live in a fairly wealthy area so I guess I am a little surprised we are far above average even for this area. I guess this leads into the housing discussion - if folks here are on average making considerably less than us, I am not sure how the average housing price can be considerably higher than ours. The median house price in my county is almost double what we paid, and I don't know that we could comfortably afford double our mortgage!

Anyway, I do NOT feel middle class for anywhere, especially these days when things are especially tight for most families. We are very stable and can reasonably buy or do anything we need to do (and most things we want to do) and I feel extremely privileged to be able to say that.

[jewel]

We are solidly middle class for our metro area, with an income at the higher middle end for our specific zip code, middle 40% for the country.

It's interesting, because I *feel* like more upper middle than our relative income shows. A couple of things that I think are major factors - I don't work, which is a huge privilege. We might land outside of middle class if I had an income. This is not the kind of choice I'd have ever imagined I'd have. Also, we lucked into buying a house at the very bottom of the market here. We have since sold and moved (nearby) but it allowed us to have such significant equity that the house and neighborhood we currently live in would be far outside of our price range if we were new to the market now. Or, I'd have to work and we'd be so stretched thin with a huge house payment and @@ daycare that I'd feel much more solidly middle class.

[sakoro]

I am middle class for the region I’m living in right now (San Diego) and the region I lived in prior to the pandemic (San Francisco).

However the calculator doesn’t take into account when you bought your house or if you have rent control. This makes a huge impact on one’s budget in HCOL areas and is probably the only way people can get by at the lower end of the middle class per the calculator. If you move to San Diego/ San Francisco in 2023 with no friends/relatives to stay with and have to go with market rate housing, you won’t be able to survive on a $50k salary. Most likely you would be living with 8 roommates in a 2 bedroom apartment, living in the Central Valley and commuting 200 miles round trip or living in a van.

I bought my condo in 2022 and have to have a roommate/ tenant to make ends meet. In addition, I’m definitely behind on saving for retirement. That doesn’t “feel” middle class to me. If I had bought in 2011 when I first returned to California, my payment would be probably 50% lower, my property taxes would be half what they are now (thanks Prop 13), my emergency fund would much more substantial, I could contribute more to retirement and I wouldn’t have to have roommate/ tenant.

[seeyalater52]

No. We are top 20% nationally and out of middle class range for our zip code. Not by much, though, and this time last year we were in the upper end of the middle class range but my salary has escalated a lot the past 2 years.

We both grew up poor and don’t have generational wealth or any sort of familial safety net so I feel really lucky we are able to provide for our family in this way even though I definitely feel the impact of my upbringing on how I conceptualize our current financial situation.

[pixy0stix]

Jun 2, 2023 18:44:11 GMT -5 sakoro said:

I am middle class for the region I’m living in right now (San Diego) and the region I lived in prior to the pandemic (San Francisco).

However the calculator doesn’t take into account when you bought your house or if you have rent control. This makes a huge impact on one’s budget in HCOL areas and is probably the only way people can get by at the lower end of the middle class per the calculator. If you move to San Diego/ San Francisco in 2023 with no friends/relatives to stay with and have to go with market rate housing, you won’t be able to survive on a $60k salary.

I bought my condo in 2022 and have to have a roommate/ tenant to make ends meet. In addition, I’m definitely behind on saving for retirement. That doesn’t “feel” middle class to me. If I had bought in 2011 when I first returned to California, my payment would be probably 50% lower, my property taxes would be half what they are now (thanks Prop 13), my emergency fund would much more substantial, I could contribute more to retirement and I wouldn’t have to have roommate/ tenant.

Budget, debt, etc. doesn't have impact on where you fall on the scale. It's a red herring in this discussion as that is what people want to focus on, but ultimately means nothing. It's addressed a bit in the "keeping up with the Joneses" section.