FACTBOX-What is middle class in the U.S.? | Reuters - prucalmissionhills's posterous#comment

FACTBOX-What is middle class in the U.S.? | Reuters

by Mission Hills Prudential

Sept 13 | Mon Sep 13, 2010 5:10pm EDT

Sept 13 (Reuters) - Most Americans in the United States define themselves as being part of the middle class, but there are differing opinions of what that means.

President Barack Obama talks of "middle class tax cuts" that would apply to families who earn up to $250,000, which would cover all but the richest 3 percent of U.S. households.

Many Republicans point out that location and expenses can affect class status -- a family earning $250,000 in a high-cost location like Manhattan, for example, may not consider themselves rich.

Economists say there is no specific criteria for defining the middle class, though income level is the most common way of breaking it down.

Below are some of the ways the middle class is defined:

INCOME

Economists generally align the group according to earnings, even if there is no standard established range.

"Most people tend to think of themselves as middle class unless they're (billionaire investor) Warren Buffett or really poor," said J.D. Foster, an economist and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Foster regards the upper 20 percent of earners as "upper income," the lower 20 percent as "lower income" and the 60 percent in the middle as middle class, with household incomes roughly between $25,000 and $100,000.

Median household income in the United States was $52,175 in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

EDUCATION

Education can be another defining factor, as it is often correlated with income.

Some academics divide the middle class into an upper bracket that includes professionals and middle managers who hold postgraduate degrees and often earn more than $100,000, a less affluent lower middle class which typically has some college education with household incomes around the national median.

These two groups account for roughly 45 percent of the population, depending on the model.

Blue-collar and clerical workers in the working class typically have a high school education, and many may describe themselves as "middle class" even though their incomes may be a fraction of those earned by professionals.

The poorest 12 to 20 percent of Americans often have not finished high school.

Profession and education level does not always correlate with household income, however. A household with two blue-collar earners, for example, could take in more income than one headed by a single professional.

DICTIONARY DEFINITION

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the middle class as follows: "The socioeconomic class between the working class and the upper class, usually including professionals, highly skilled laborers, and lower and middle management."

Most Americans, however, generally consider the United States to be a classless society and associate the group with factors ranging from income and occupation to hobbies and lifestyles. Doctors, teachers, lawyers and plumbers can all belong. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

via reuters.com

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