What income is upper middle class?
The upper middle class is often defined as the top 15% to 20% of earners. According to the Social Security Administration's 2022 wage data, the average upper-middle-class income was roughly between $80,000 and $100,000.
Upper middle class: Anyone with earnings in the 60th to 80th percentile would be considered upper middle class. Those in the upper middle class have incomes between $89,745 and $149,131. Upper class: Finally, the upper class is the top 20% of earners and they have incomes of $149,132 or higher.
For the purposes of this article, those with an income in the bottom 20 percentile will be identified as lower class, followed by lower-middle class (up to 40th percentile), middle class (up to 60th percentile), upper-middle class (up to 80th percentile) with the remainder considered upper class.
Middle class: Those in the 40th to 60th percentile of household income, ranging from $55,001 to $89,744. Upper middle class: Households in the 60th to 80th percentile, with incomes between $89,745 and $149,131. Upper class: The top 20% of earners, with household incomes of $149,132 or more.
Some sources define upper middle class as anyone who's making a lot of money but hasn't quite crossed the threshold to become truly wealthy yet. These individuals often have a net worth of at least $500,000 to $2 million.
Where Does $200k a Year Put You on the Income Spectrum? If you had an income of $200,000, that would put you in the top 12% of household incomes or the top 5% of individual incomes in 2022.
However, new research from GOBankingRates shows that in some major U.S. cities, an annual income of $150,000 is only enough to qualify as “lower middle class.” This is especially pronounced in two Northern California cities and Arlington, Virginia.
Lower-income households had incomes less than $48,500 and upper-income households had incomes greater than $145,500 (all figures computed for three-person households, adjusted for the cost of living in a metropolitan area, and expressed in 2018 dollars).
One common way to classify the upper middle class is based on income. The upper middle class is often defined as the top 15% to 20% of earners. According to the Social Security Administration's 2022 wage data, the average upper-middle-class income was roughly between $80,000 and $100,000.
What Defines the Upper Middle Class? If going by households in the 60th to 80th percentile of household income, that would mean the upper middle class includes households with incomes between $89,745 and $149,131.
What is the difference between upper middle class and wealthy?
Income: The upper class is typically defined as the top 1% of earners in the United States. This means that upper class households earn more than $500,000 per year. Upper middle class households, on the other hand, typically earn between $100,000 and $250,000 per year.
The term upper class refers to a group of individuals who occupy the highest place and status in society. Individuals who make up the upper class have higher levels of disposable income and exert more control over the use of natural resources.
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power.
In the United States, the upper middle class is defined as consisting of white-collar professionals who have above-average personal incomes, advanced educational degrees and a high degree of autonomy in their work, leading to higher job satisfaction.
The most common professions of the upper-middle class tend to center on conceptualizing, consulting, and instruction. They include such occupations as lawyer, physician, dentist, engineer, professor, architect, civil service executive, and civilian contractor.
While scrolling through the “finances” section of the Daily Princetonian's freshman demographics survey for the Class of 2027, one statistic caught my eye: Of the freshmen coming from families who made more than $500,000 annually, 44.6 percent considered themselves “upper middle class.” I couldn't help but raise an ...
A $200,000 household income is more than most people earn across the U.S. In fact, just 12% of U.S. households earn $200,000 or more annually, according to Census Bureau data.
The median salary for Americans is around $70,000 a year, according to the most recent census data from 2021. A salary of $100,000 a year, with the assumption that you are an individual without dependents, would classify an individual as upper-class — but many of these people don't feel rich.
Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.
| Annual household income in U.S. dollars | Percentage of U.S. households |
|---|---|
| 50,000 to 74,999 | 16.2% |
| 75,000 to 99,999 | 12.3% |
| 100,000 to 149,999 | 16.4% |
| 150,000 to 199,999 | 9.2% |
What percentage of Americans make 150K?
Only 15.5% of Americans earn between $100,000 and $149,999 per year. Although, this does make up the largest percentage of Americans who do make over $100k, which only 8.3% earning between $150,000-$199,999, and 10.3% earning over $200k.
Using the BLS study of household earnings from 2021-2022, we found that an average household of 4 people spends approximately $97,000 per year. With a $150,000 salary, this would be sufficient to cover all your expenses and save $15,000 annually.
There is considerable debate as to how the upper middle class might be defined. According to sociologist Max Weber, the upper middle class consists of well-educated professionals with postgraduate degrees and comfortable incomes. Higher education is one of the most distinguishing features of the upper middle class.
The lower middle class is often made up of less educated people with lower incomes, such as managers, small business owners, teachers, and secretaries. The upper middle class is often made up of highly educated business and professional people with high incomes, such as doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and CEOs.
60% of those millionaires identify as upper middle class, while 31% interestingly identify themselves as just middle class. Surprisingly, a large number of millionaires reside comfortably in the middle class, revealing an oddly curious disconnect between their sense of self and their financial security.
