This is considered middle class income in California, study shows (2024)

FAQs

This is considered middle class income in California, study shows? ›

In California, the middle class income range for 2022 was $61,270 to $183,810. Compare that to the average in 2012, which was $40,933 to $122,800.

Economic Class as Defined by Income in California

By Pew's standard, a California household has to earn between $61,270 and $183,810 to join the state's middle class. Those earning $61,269 or less are lower-middle class and $183,811 or more buys you a ticket to the upper-middle class.

With New Jersey ranking as the top state to make the most money to be considered middle class, other states ranking in the top five requiring salaries exceeding $50,000 to be in this category include Maryland ($63,321) and Massachusetts ($62,986), Hawaii ($61,633) and California ($61,028).

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau was used in the report. For Californians hoping to join the prestigious club, residents would have to bring in an average income of $613,602, a nearly 40% increase from 2017, when the average income needed for the top 5% of earners was $447,207.

The middle class is commonly defined as households earning between two-thirds and double the median income, which is $128,151 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, California metro area, the Census Bureau reports. That means middle class households there earn between $85,434 and $256,302 a year.

The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households that earn between two-thirds and double the median U.S. household income, which was $65,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 21 Using Pew's yardstick, middle income is made up of people who make between $43,350 and $130,000.

Middle-income households – those with an income that is two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income – had incomes ranging from about $56,600 to $169,800 in 2022. Lower-income households had incomes less than $56,600, and upper-income households had incomes greater than $169,800.

According to the latest Census Bureau data from 2022, the median household income in the U.S. was $74,580. Based on that number, if you earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, you qualify as middle class.

In many places, salaries have not kept up with rising prices — particularly for those in the middle class. Depending on where you live, a salary of just $25,000 could put you in the middle class based on the area's median household earnings.

What is a livable salary in California? ›

Two working adults with two children must earn $138,361 per year, or $33.26 per hour each. In Los Angeles County, the living wage for two working adults with two kids is $138,000 per year, or $33.24 per hour for each adult. For a single adult with no children, the Living Wage is $26.63 per hour, or $55,300 per year.

U.S. California median household income 1990-2022

In 2022, the median household income in California amounted to 85,300 U.S. dollars. This is an increase from the previous year, when the median household income in the state was 81,575 U.S. dollars. Median household income for the United States can be accessed here.

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.

While there's no definitive line, households in the top 20% of earners are generally considered upper class. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in 2022 was $74,580. To reach the upper class in 2024, you'd typically need an income exceeding $153,000 – more than double the national median.

Sure, as a single person 200K is doing well. But, 200K with a family of 4 (2 kids and a wife) is definately scraping by on the penninsula or SF. The only way that's not scraping by is if you bought your house over 20 years ago (or during 2010-2012 housing slump) OR you got yourself a Rent controlled apartment.

In 2024, a large U.S. city's middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000, with the median household income across all 345 cities at $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590, SmartAsset noted.

If you make $75,000 a year living in the region of California, USA, you will be taxed $19,714. That means that your net pay will be $55,286 per year, or $4,607 per month.