Maintenance, repair and production professionals often work in manufacturing or similar industries. The average annual wage for general maintenance and repair workers was just shy of $50,000 as of May 2023, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And as of 2022, 64% of people in this field were in the middle-income tier.
In the United States, the middle class occupies about half of the population, mainly consisting of people who work in white-collar professions, run small businesses, or are in skilled trades.
This group of middle-class professionals is distinguished from other social classes by their training and education (typically business qualifications and university degrees), with example occupations including academics and teachers, social workers, engineers, accountants, managers, nurses, and middle-level ...
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. Don't Miss: Are you rich?
Individuals in the lower-middle class tend to hold low status professional or white collar jobs, such as school teacher, nurse, or paralegal. The lower-middle class is among the largest social classes, rivaled only by the working class, and it is thought to be growing.
According to the data, the middle-class household income averages across the U.S. ranged between $52,000 and $98,500 in 2024. But the study also found that the income levels required to be considered middle-class varied significantly depending on where a person lived.
Middle-class persons commonly have a comfortable standard of living, significant economic security, considerable work autonomy and rely on their expertise to sustain themselves. Members of the middle class belong to diverse groups which overlap with each other.
Is $36K a good salary for a single person? A single person can afford to live on $36,000 a year in more affordable places in the U.S., but it could still be difficult to afford to buy a home in today's real estate market.
However, since 2019, Canada has the wealthiest middle class of any country in the world. The most common figure used by researchers and economics professors when comparing middle-class economies across different countries is median annual income, standardized to U.S. dollars.
In several states, registered nurses not only achieve but surpass middle-income earnings, placing them in the upper-income bracket. Specifically, registered nurses' salaries are in the upper-income band in Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Nevada.
Jobs that often pay around $400,000 a year include: Medical specialists like surgeons, orthodontists, or anesthesiologists. CEOs and top executives in large corporations. Investment bankers and hedge fund managers.
Highest paying jobs: The top five highest paying jobs by median are all in the medical field and earn over $200 thousand per year. U.S. income by gender: The median male earnings in 2023 was $66,790 compared to $55,240 for women. Male income grew at twice the rate of female income from 2022 to 2023.
Is $100,000 Salary a Middle Class Income? This depends on your household size and location. For a single individual, $100,000 would actually put you in the upper-income level in most places. For household sizes between two and four, $100,000 a year would put you squarely in the middle class.
According to the Census Bureau's Income in the United States: 2022 report, the median household income is $74,580 (a 2.3% decline from 2021), while household income levels for each class level are as follows: Lower class: less than or equal to $30,000. Lower-middle class: $30,001 – $58,020.
In 2022, the national middle-income range was about $56,600 to $169,800 annually for a household of three. Lower-income households had incomes less than $56,600, and upper-income households had incomes greater than $169,800.
While the trend for physician income is depressingly down, the middle class (based on the Pew Research Center definition) makes two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income or roughly $50,000–$150,000 a year. Most physicians are doing better than that.
In 2019, the average earnings of elementary and middle school teachers with a bachelor's degree or more who work full-time, year-round was $53,800. For high school teachers, it was $57,840. These earnings fall short of what their similarly educated peers earn: Biological scientists ($69,880).
Most people in the upper-middle class strata are highly educated white collar professionals such as but not limited to physicians, dentists, lawyers, military officers, economists, business analysts, urban planners, university professors, architects, supervisors and proprietors of sales jobs, psychologists, scientists, ...