Are you making $20,000 more than you were about a decade ago? You might not be considered middle class in Massachusetts anymore.
In 10 years, the salary required to be considered middle class has changed by about $20,000 in Massachusetts, according to GoBankingRates.
The study looked at middle income ranges in 2012 versus how it comes in 2022 by using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The study defined middle class as those with an annual household income that was two-thirds to double the national median income.
“Overall, the household income required to be considered middle class in the U.S. has increased by 41.67% during that time frame,” the website stated.
In the U.S. in 2012, a household income of $35,364 qualified you as a member of the middle class. But by 2022, the household needed to make $50,099 to be considered middle class.
Those numbers are even higher in Massachusetts, the study suggested.
In 2012, those in the commonwealth were considered middle class if they made between $44,439 to $133,316. In 2022, Massachusetts residents needed to make between $64,337 to $193,010 to be considered middle class.
The 10-year change is 44.78%, one of the top 10 biggest changes in the U.S., according to the study.
A report by the Washington Post in February found that most Americans think of a middle class as a household income of $75,000 to $100,000.
The Pew Research Center’s definition goes even higher than the GoBankingRates study suggested. It defines income levels for the middle class as between two-thirds to double the national median income, which is $67,819 to $203,458 for a family of four.
